I never saw Billy Best play.
What I have seen was the reverence that those who had, hold Billy Best. The mere mention of his name and fans of a certain age go all misty-eyed.
I first noticed this phenomenon in 1993. I knew Stan was good, but I wasn't at that stage sure quite how good he was. We now of course know that Stan is a Southend United Hall of Famer - you voted him the third player into our Hall of Fame - but I decided to ask my old man. The fantastic Southend United: The Official History of the Blues had come out that same year, so I threw out the names of various players I'd read about but never seen play. He kept on saying that yes so-and-so was good, and I kept on saying but was he better than Stan and my father kept on saying not really. The one player he paused on was Billy Best.
In the end he refused to be drawn on which one was better, but it wasn't so much that my Dad rated him in the same bracket as Stanley that caught my attention, it was his reaction to the name Billy Best. He reacted to Billy Best the same way that I now react to a mention of Stanley. Of course we all have our individual favourites, but whenever I've mentioned the name Billy Best to someone who watched Southend in the late 60s and early 70s they have always reacted in the same way.
My theory was borne out a couple of seasons ago. As we all know (although this did seem to catch the club by surprise) 2006 was the club's centenary season, and as part of the extensive celebrations various Southend United legends were welcomed back to Roots Hall. Normally a couple of old boys who still lived in the area would totter out at half-time to a polite ripple of applause, but then there was the game Billy Best was welcomed back. Best got a standing ovation that left shivers down my spine at the warmth of his reception. I reckon even the Discussing gits I use to sit near in the West Stand probably stood and applauded him. If ever there was any doubt in my mind about how great a Southend great Billy Best was, that appearance resolved it.
Billy Best joined Southend from Northampton in early 1968. At the time we were languishing in the fourth division, having been relegated 18 months earlier after Alvan Williams lived up to his promise to take Southend out of the third division (what is it with inepitude and managers named Alvin/Alvan?).
Best didn't get off to the best of starts when he failed to score on his debut at Chester. Indeed Southend didn't score in his first three games, but in his 5th start for the club he finally grabbed his first goal in a 2-2 draw at home to Halifax. He went one better in the next game, grabbing a brace at the real St James' Park; and then a hattrick the following game at home to Chester. After the goalless first four games, he finished the season with a run of 14 goals in 16 games but when it mattered a seven match run in April produced just two points and the club finished 6th for the second successive season.
His first full season at the club was a legendary one. His season started slowly with two goals in his first ten league games, until a hattrick against Exeter, but it was the signing of Gary Moore that seemed to transform him. The Shrimpers were drawn at home to Kings Lynn in the FA Cup and the fledgling partnership of Best and Moore hit it off with both scoring hattricks in a 9-0 win. Then in the second round they went one better as Best scored five (including 4 in the final 6 minutes) and Moore four as Brentwood were thrashed 10-1. The press loved it, dubbing the first game the 'Slaughter of the Innocents' and the second 'the Massacre at Roots Hall'. The scoreline and Best's 5 goals remain shared club records. Best further demonstrated his appetite for scoring against non-league clubs when he scored twice against Col Ewe in a 3-1 win at Roots Hall. He went onto hit 20 league goals, 1 in the league cup and an incredible 10 in the FA Cup that season, as the club finished one place down in 7th but scored over 100 goals that season.
In an injury hit 1969/70. Best played just 31 league games, but still netted 23 goals (plus one in the cup) including 4 against Peterborough and yet another hattrick, this time against Scunthorpe. The club struggled though and finished 17th in division 4. The following season they went one place worse and without Best's 19 goals (the club only scored 53 all season) it would no doubt have been a lot worse.
However the next season things seemed to click under manager Arthur Rowley and Southend gained their first ever league promotion. Perhaps fittingly, it was Best who scored the all important goal at Scunthorpe. Best contributed 19 league goals that season and the winner in the FA Cup against Villa. Amongst his hauls were yet more hattricks, against Grimsby and at Reading.
In his final season, his only at the club in division 3, he struggled to find the net scoring just 11 goals, but helped the club to a respectable 14th position in the third division.
In the end Best finished with a remarkable 123 goals, second only to Roy Hollis. With 106 of those goals in the league, Best and Hollis are the only two to have notched triple figures for the club in the league, and their 15 goals in the FA Cup (Best's in just 12 games) remains another joint record. No-one has scored more hattricks.
Roy Hollis might have scored more and others might have had a better scoring record or played at a higher level, but has there ever been a more popular goalscorer than Billy Best?
Billy Best
Southend United 1968-1973
Total Appearances 246+1 (League 225+1, FA Cup 12, League Cup 9)
Total Goals 123 (League 106, FA Cup 15, League Cup 2)
Promotions: 1 (1971/72).
Relegations: 0
What I have seen was the reverence that those who had, hold Billy Best. The mere mention of his name and fans of a certain age go all misty-eyed.
I first noticed this phenomenon in 1993. I knew Stan was good, but I wasn't at that stage sure quite how good he was. We now of course know that Stan is a Southend United Hall of Famer - you voted him the third player into our Hall of Fame - but I decided to ask my old man. The fantastic Southend United: The Official History of the Blues had come out that same year, so I threw out the names of various players I'd read about but never seen play. He kept on saying that yes so-and-so was good, and I kept on saying but was he better than Stan and my father kept on saying not really. The one player he paused on was Billy Best.
In the end he refused to be drawn on which one was better, but it wasn't so much that my Dad rated him in the same bracket as Stanley that caught my attention, it was his reaction to the name Billy Best. He reacted to Billy Best the same way that I now react to a mention of Stanley. Of course we all have our individual favourites, but whenever I've mentioned the name Billy Best to someone who watched Southend in the late 60s and early 70s they have always reacted in the same way.
My theory was borne out a couple of seasons ago. As we all know (although this did seem to catch the club by surprise) 2006 was the club's centenary season, and as part of the extensive celebrations various Southend United legends were welcomed back to Roots Hall. Normally a couple of old boys who still lived in the area would totter out at half-time to a polite ripple of applause, but then there was the game Billy Best was welcomed back. Best got a standing ovation that left shivers down my spine at the warmth of his reception. I reckon even the Discussing gits I use to sit near in the West Stand probably stood and applauded him. If ever there was any doubt in my mind about how great a Southend great Billy Best was, that appearance resolved it.
Billy Best joined Southend from Northampton in early 1968. At the time we were languishing in the fourth division, having been relegated 18 months earlier after Alvan Williams lived up to his promise to take Southend out of the third division (what is it with inepitude and managers named Alvin/Alvan?).
Best didn't get off to the best of starts when he failed to score on his debut at Chester. Indeed Southend didn't score in his first three games, but in his 5th start for the club he finally grabbed his first goal in a 2-2 draw at home to Halifax. He went one better in the next game, grabbing a brace at the real St James' Park; and then a hattrick the following game at home to Chester. After the goalless first four games, he finished the season with a run of 14 goals in 16 games but when it mattered a seven match run in April produced just two points and the club finished 6th for the second successive season.
His first full season at the club was a legendary one. His season started slowly with two goals in his first ten league games, until a hattrick against Exeter, but it was the signing of Gary Moore that seemed to transform him. The Shrimpers were drawn at home to Kings Lynn in the FA Cup and the fledgling partnership of Best and Moore hit it off with both scoring hattricks in a 9-0 win. Then in the second round they went one better as Best scored five (including 4 in the final 6 minutes) and Moore four as Brentwood were thrashed 10-1. The press loved it, dubbing the first game the 'Slaughter of the Innocents' and the second 'the Massacre at Roots Hall'. The scoreline and Best's 5 goals remain shared club records. Best further demonstrated his appetite for scoring against non-league clubs when he scored twice against Col Ewe in a 3-1 win at Roots Hall. He went onto hit 20 league goals, 1 in the league cup and an incredible 10 in the FA Cup that season, as the club finished one place down in 7th but scored over 100 goals that season.
In an injury hit 1969/70. Best played just 31 league games, but still netted 23 goals (plus one in the cup) including 4 against Peterborough and yet another hattrick, this time against Scunthorpe. The club struggled though and finished 17th in division 4. The following season they went one place worse and without Best's 19 goals (the club only scored 53 all season) it would no doubt have been a lot worse.
However the next season things seemed to click under manager Arthur Rowley and Southend gained their first ever league promotion. Perhaps fittingly, it was Best who scored the all important goal at Scunthorpe. Best contributed 19 league goals that season and the winner in the FA Cup against Villa. Amongst his hauls were yet more hattricks, against Grimsby and at Reading.
In his final season, his only at the club in division 3, he struggled to find the net scoring just 11 goals, but helped the club to a respectable 14th position in the third division.
In the end Best finished with a remarkable 123 goals, second only to Roy Hollis. With 106 of those goals in the league, Best and Hollis are the only two to have notched triple figures for the club in the league, and their 15 goals in the FA Cup (Best's in just 12 games) remains another joint record. No-one has scored more hattricks.
Roy Hollis might have scored more and others might have had a better scoring record or played at a higher level, but has there ever been a more popular goalscorer than Billy Best?
Billy Best
Southend United 1968-1973
Total Appearances 246+1 (League 225+1, FA Cup 12, League Cup 9)
Total Goals 123 (League 106, FA Cup 15, League Cup 2)
Promotions: 1 (1971/72).
Relegations: 0
