William Simpson... he was 16 years old when his family moved from Paisley to Toronto on 13 August 1911... married to wife Theresa... he suffered a heart attack in 1961... he was 79 years old when he passed away in Toronto, ON on 21 June 1974... said to be under “his stubborn insistence” that Canada entered FIFA World Cup Qualifiers for the first time in 1957... in his office, he kept a sign that read “keep your temper, nobody else wants it”... was celebrated with a Testimonial Dinner on 12 September 1969 at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto (more than 400 persons attended the event), with the main gift a trip and tickets to the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico...

served as the 23rd President of the Canadian Soccer Football Association (1965-69)... honoured as a Canada Soccer Life Member... posthumously honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame (one of the first 11 non-players honoured as part of The Soccer Hall of Fame’s inaugural Class of 2000)... honoured by Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame... honoured as an Ontario Soccer Life Member...

said Simpson in 1964, “they can call me what they like, but I wouldn’t be in soccer today if they wanted a yes-man. I don’t resent criticism. As far as I am concerned, I am going to enforce the rules regardless of the consequences”... wrote Simpson in 1966, “the National Association must be made administratively and financially strong, self supporting, and independent of outside control”... wrote Eric King in 1969, “Bill Simpson has been a dedicated servant to amateur sport in Canada for almost 40 years”... wrote George Gross in 1974, Simpson “was a man whom you might have had disagreements with, but you always respected his fairness. While some of those who didn`t know him well enough considered him a stern disciplinarian, the ones who knew him were well aware of his humor and kindness“...

For Sport

served as 23rd President of Canada Soccer (1965-66 to 1968-69), then known as the Canadian Soccer Football Association... served as a Canada Soccer Council Member (1951-53 to 1960-61), a Canada Soccer Vice-President (1961-62 and 1964-65), and a Canada Soccer Past President (1969-70 to 1971-72)... served as tour manager for Lokomotiv Moscow in their 1956 series against Canadian teams... served as Canada’s manager for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 1957... was manager of the Canadian team that toured the Soviet Union in 1960...

served for the Toronto and District Soccer Association, first as a director (February 1931), then as vice-president (February 1932)... served the National Soccer League, first as Chairman of the Western Division (1935 to 1938)... again served for the Toronto & District Soccer Association, as a director (February 1948) and then as President (from 1949 to 1965)... served for the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League, first as secretary-treasurer (1961 to 1963) and then as Chairman (starting 1964)...

served as a council member of the Ontario Football Association (starting 1951)...