Martin O'Neill hailed Billy Bingham's "strength of character" in making him the first Catholic captain of Northern Ireland, paying tribute during a memorial service in Belfast.
Bingham had been boss from 1967 to 1971, and was brought back in March 1980 to succeed the legendary Danny Blanchflower, whose younger brother Jackie had been a playing contemporary of Billy's growing up in the Bloomfield area of Belfast.
Having played for Sunderland, Luton Town, Everton, and Port Vale, he went into management, first with Southport, where he made his home, then with NI on a part-time basis.
After spells with Plymouth, Linfield, Greece, AEK Athens, Everton, PAOK, and Mansfield, O'Neill recalled: "The Irish FA made an epoch-changing decision to bring Billy back as manager, for his second time."
His call on the captaincy was huge too: "Billy asked me if I'd be interested in being captain of the team; this would be important as the first Catholic to be Northern Ireland captain.
"To be it was an honour, I wanted to do it, but obviously there was going to be a bit of difficulty….being the first Catholic captain of Northern Ireland was significant…
"I was very, very concerned about this because, of course, 'The Troubles' were rife in 1980. But he did say to me: 'Listen, I'll take a little bit of flak for it, but things will change when we start to win some football matches….If we win games, no one will ever discuss this.
"It was a big thing for me, because he had a number of other excellent candidates that he could have chosen from.
"It was the first sign of what I would call real strength of character, really strong. He was opiniated about things, but once he laid them down he followed them to the full."
Bingham's foresight and judgment were proven correct, O'Neill leading the team to Spain, only Northern Ireland's second ever World Cup qualification; Bingham, of course, was a player on the previous occasion, in 1958, and boss again when they made it back-to-back involvement for the 1986 event in Mexico.
Kilrea man O'Neill, who went on to manage the Republic of Ireland to Euro 2016, had fond memories of that 1982 World Cup in Spain, where NI beat the hosts, and he cited the film classic 'Casablanca' as he concluded his tribute speech at St Anne's Cathedral:
"Humphrey Bogart told Ingrid Bergman, 'We'll always have Paris'; well, thanks to Billy, I'll always have Valencia." That was where Gerry Armstrong scored in the 1-0 win over Spain, sending Northern Ireland into the second stage of the global tournament.
Armstrong also attended the service, along with former players including current NI boss Michael O'Neill, Jimmy Nicholl, Mal Donaghy, and Billy Hamilton. The west Belfast man gave a reading from 1st Corinthians, which contained these words:
'Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.'
William Laurie Bingham's legacy will long outlive him. This Friday will mark the first anniversary of his death, but his legend will live on. The Irish Football Association organised this service of thanksgiving for a man who went to three World Cups with Northern Ireland.
Billy's son David spoke about his father's winning spirit, forged in climbing the highest trees in Orangefield Park in east Belfast. Once Billy fell down through the branches and knocked himself unconscious. When he woke up he simply dusted himself down and walked home.
The young Billy also worked out, to build up his slight frame, and became a tough competitor on the pitch and in the dug-outs.
Bingham's playing ability with Glentoran attracted the attention of the then 'Bank of England' club, Sunderland, and O'Neill recalls seeing him playing in an FA Cup Final for Luton against his own future club, Nottingham Forest. Luton lost, but O'Neill was impressed by them scoring a goal from a short corner; years later Bingham pointed out he'd taken that innovative move.
Bingham went on to score 101 goals in 419 games as an outside-right in England, an impressive return, before becoming a tactically astute manager of well-organised teams.
Given that 1958, 1982, and 1986 are the only years in which NI have participated in the global tournament's final stages, Bingham's place at the top of the managerial tree here is assured, as O'Neill said: "I just have the utmost regard for one of the great, great managers in the game."
Bingham's time as a boss saw him finish up at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia – ahead of his time again.
Fittingly, the final hymn sung by the excellent Belfast Community Gospel Choir – an XI all wearing green – was 'How Great Thou Art'.
