Career
Playing career Born in West Bromwich, the oldest of a coal merchant"s six children, at only 5 feet 5 inches (165 m), Bassett was initially considered too frail for a professional player. Establishing himself as a winger in various local amateur sides, he joined in 1886, playing outside-right. On 28 April 1894, Bassett became the first ever Albion player to be sent off: he was dismissed for using "unparliamentary language" in a friendly match away at Millwall.
Bassett made his 311th and final competitive appearance for Albion on the last day of the 1898-1899 season, lining up in a 7–1 defeat away against Aston Villa.
Director and chairman Bassett became an Albion director in 1905, following the resignation of the previous board in its entirety. The club was in deep financial trouble and had had a writ served upon them by their bank, but Bassett and returning chairman Harry Keys rescued the club, aided by local fund-raising activities.
Bassett became chairman in 1908, and helped the club to avoid bankruptcy once more in 1910 by paying the players" summer wages from his own pocket. He remained Albion"s chair until his death.
His activities in the wider footballing world let him to take an active role in the development of both the Football Association and the Football League.
The strength of England"s rivalry with Scotland had led Bassett to develop a "distaste" for Scots during his playing days, and throughout his 29-year chairmanship Albion did not sign a single Scottish player. Death and legacy Billy Bassett died in West Bromwich on 8 April 1937 at the age of 68. The Albion players were clearly affected, with Teddy Sandford saying: More than 100,000 people lined the streets of West Bromwich for Bassett"s funeral procession.
In 1998 he was listed among the Football League 100 Legends, while in 2004 he was named as one of "s 16 greatest players, in a poll organised as part of the club"s 125th anniversary celebrations.