Top facts about Kevin Beattie, the Diamond Beast

Thomas Kevin Beattie was an English footballer who played for the

. He was born into poverty and went on to play professionally and internationally, usually as a center-back. He spent most of his playing career at Ipswich Town, winning both the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup with the club.

At the end of the 1972–73 season, he was elected the first Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year, and he appeared in the film Escape to Victory alongside several of his

colleagues.

Beattie's sporting career carried him from rags to riches, but he was "cursed by being both injured and accident-prone," according to The Daily Telegraph. His playing career was marred by scandal, particularly after he went missing after being named to England's under-23 squad.

He fell into unemployment and alcoholism after retiring from football, and even considered suicide, before finding new meaning and a new profession as a football pundit on television and radio later in life.

Many commentators and surveys have voted Beattie as Ipswich Town's finest ever player. Bobby Robson, the manager of Ipswich Town (and later England), declared him the finest England player he had ever seen.

The life story and top facts about Kevin Beattie, the Diamond Beast

In this article of top facts about Kevin Beattie, we will take a look at his personal life as well as parts of his career. The main purpose of the article is to find any facts hidden in his life story and then present them in a way that would be comprehendible for all.

Now, without further ado let us start with his information for the next part of

top facts about Kevin Beattie

.

Kevin Beattie information

For those who are new to Kevin Beattie or wish to brush up on their knowledge before reading the top facts about Kevin Beattie, let's start with the most crucial Kevin Beattie facts.

Personal information

• Full name:

  Thomas Kevin Beattie

• Date of birth:

  18 December 1953

• Date of death: 

  16 September 2018

• Aged:

  64

• Nationality:

  English

• Place of birth:

  Ipswich, England

• Marital status:

  Married

• Religion:

  Christianity

Football information

• Position:

  Centre-half

• Last team:

  Clacton Town

• Total appearances:

  307

• Club appearances:

  296

National appearances:

9

Physical stats and appearance

• Height:

  1.78 m

• Hair color:

  Light Brown

• Skin color:

  White

• Facial hair:

  Mustache

We may now go on to the next portion of the

top facts about Kevin Beattie

article, which will go through the specifics and consequences of the material offered thus far.

Kevin Beattie life before football

Every player has a tale to tell, one that comes from the old days and now it’s time to read this Ipswich town legends story in this section of top facts about Kevin Beattie.

On the 18th of December, 1953, Thomas Kevin Beattie was born in Carlisle. He was the youngest of nine children, five boys, and four girls, who resided on the Botcherby estate.

His father was also called Thomas Beattie, therefore he became known by his middle name. Beattie's mother worked as a cleaner in a Lipton tea shop, while his father was a coal delivery driver for the National Coal Board.

The elder Thomas was a goalie in amateur football and had a trial with Aston Villa, but he declined because he could earn more money working for the Coal Board.

The family suffered financially after dad was forced to stop working owing to a back ailment, and they were frequently hungry, prompting little Beattie to steal fruit and vegetables from neighborhood allotments.

"When Dad backed a winning horse or else won a game of darts, or dominoes down at his local bar," he recounted later in life. But this all was just the beginning of an amazing story

Kevin Beattie early career

Due to his lengthy and successful history with the clubs, unfortunately, we are forced to skip his career and get to his international matches for this section of top facts about Kevin Beattie.

During the 1972–73 English domestic season, former Ipswich manager and then-England boss Alf Ramsey chose Beattie to play for the England under-23 side. He made his debut against Wales under-23s at Vetch Field in Swansea in November 1972, with England winning 3–0.

His solitary goal at that level came in his last under-23 game, a 2–0 triumph against

, this time at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.

Under Don Revie, Beattie made his senior England debut in a 5–0 victory against Cyprus at

in April 1975,

which was memorable for Malcolm Macdonald scoring all five goals. Beattie placed the ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed due to a goalkeeper foul; in the end, his solitary goal for his nation came in a 5–1 victory against Scotland in the 1974–75 British Home Championship in May 1975.

Beattie, apparently playing at left-back, emerged to meet a cross from Kevin Keegan, beat two Scottish defenders, and "looped a magnificent header" into the goal, which was rated one of the best 50 goals England has scored, according to Perry Groves, who played alongside Beattie at Colchester United.

In October 1977, he played his final game for England against Luxembourg in a qualifying match for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Between 1975 and 1977, he received nine caps, scoring once.

Kevin Beattie life after football

After his football career ended, Beattie was unemployed multiple times. Groves talks about how Beattie's unemployment office was so close to Ipswich's home pitch that he would watch players coming in their "flash motors" while signing autographs.

He began drinking frequently after operating a tavern and was given the last rites on one occasion when his pancreas "packed up." He pondered suicide, but was able to care for his gravely ill wife and, according to Groves, was able to "put his life back on track."

Despite collecting £50,000 from an Ipswich Town testimonial match, Beattie remained poor and had to rely on financial assistance from the PFA. Later in life, Beattie worked in broadcast media, and he was a football commentator for BBC Radio Suffolk until the day before he died.

He also co-wrote The Beat, his autobiography, which was released in 1998. Beattie was convicted of benefit fraud in May 2012 and sentenced to a 12-week curfew. For fear of losing Income Support, he had omitted to reveal his radio earnings. Later, he apologized and called it a "silly error."

Kevin Beattie personal life

Not all of the stories have pleasant endings. Some things just don't turn out the way they're intended to, and Kevin Beattie's life is one of those sad ones that no one can look back on with a smile on their face.

Maggie Boldy, Beattie's future wife, met him in a youth club near his apprentice lodgings in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and it was "love at first sight," according to Beattie. They married in 1974, and she was featured in a "Footballers' Wives" piece in Radio Times shortly afterward; at the time, the pair was still living in a "modest" club-owned property.

Maggie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the mid-1980s and was confined to a wheelchair at their council-owned cottage, with Beattie as her caregiver. Emma, Sarah, and Louise were their three daughters.

One of the unfortunate top facts about Kevin Beattie is that Beattie's playing career injuries caused him problems later in life: at the age of 53, he was "unable to walk more than half a mile" because of arthritis in his knees. "Maggie, bless her heart, never complains," he told a Daily Telegraph reporter, "so why should I feel any bitterness at how life ended out?"

Beattie died of a suspected heart attack on September 16, 2018, at the age of 64.  On October 26, 2018, he was laid to rest at the Nacton Crematorium.

Terry Butcher, a former Ipswich, and England player praised Beattie, calling him "the complete footballer" with an "Exocet" left-footed shot. Beattie was regarded as "a legend" by George Burley, and as "the best-ever Ipswich player" by John Wark, whose nickname for him was "Monster."

Kevin Beattie controversies

It's difficult to stay in the spotlight while avoiding being judged by fans or supporters. While all acts have repercussions, Kevin's controversies are not only due to his actions but also to the mistaken judgment of others. Let’s talk about it in this section of top facts about Kevin Beattie.

Beattie was involved in an incident in December 1974 that made headlines in both the quality and tabloid newspapers. Beattie was called up to represent England at under-23 level against

at Pittodrie but failed to arrive in Manchester after being "placed on the proper train" by his manager

.

Although England manager Don Revie wrote Beattie a telegram the next day wishing him a happy birthday, the narrative was bolstered by the fact that he was "discovered" playing dominoes with his father in a Carlisle bar. Groves claims that when Beattie's train arrived at Carlisle station 30 years later, he noticed the name, felt homesick, and went to see his father.

Beattie's lapses were attributed to stress at the time, with variables identified including his then four-week-old baby, his rags-to-riches story, and a virus. Following that, rumors that he skipped training for Ipswich, apparently opting to stay in bed after being cleared by the club doctor, added fuel to the fire. He was banned for one match by Ipswich.

In 1978, upon receiving his

winner's medal, Beattie received a lighted cigarette from a supporter and smoked it. Beattie smoked 20 smokes a day for the rest of his playing career, according to Groves, and he also missed part of Colchester's pre-season due to an injured stomach muscle caused by "stretching too much" when defecating.

Kevin Beattie legacy

Ultimately for the last section of top facts about Kevin Beattie, we will talk about his Legacy and what is left of him to this day. Bobby Robson once said that Beattie was the finest England player he had ever seen and that he could have beaten

.

Beattie was admitted into the Ipswich Town Hall of Fame in 2008 and was named one of Perry Groves' 20 "Football Heroes" in a book published in 2009. He was chosen Ipswich Town's "greatest ever player" several times.

Beattie appeared in the 1981 film Escape to Victory alongside several of his Ipswich colleagues.

As the body duplicate for Michael Caine's prisoner-of-war role, he demonstrated his abilities on the field, and the two became friends.

"There weren't too many who got on that well with him, and when I defeated him in an arm-wrestling - first my right arm, then my left arm – he didn't talk to me again," Beattie said of Sylvester Stallone, who also acted in the film.

Ipswich Star and East Anglian Daily Times editor Brad Jones launched a campaign for a permanent tribute to Beattie to be installed outside Portman Road with the current statues of Robson and Ramsey shortly after his death. Local artist Sean Hedges-Quinn unveiled the statue's design on March 19, 2019.

The money needed to create the monument was verified to have been raised in August 2019. On what would have been Beattie's 68th birthday, December 18, 2021, his statue was unveiled outside of Portman Road.

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top facts about Kevin Beattie

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