Back كيفن بيتي Arabic كيفن بيتى ARZ کوین بیتی AZB کێڤن بیتی CKB Kevin Beattie German کوین بیتی Persian Kevin Beattie Finnish Kevin Beattie French Kevin Beattie Hungarian Kevin Beattie Italian
 Beattie in 2007 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Kevin Beattie | ||
| Date of birth | 18 December 1953 | ||
| Place of birth | Carlisle, England | ||
| Date of death | 16 September 2018 (aged 64) | ||
| Place of death | Ipswich, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1971–1972 | Ipswich Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1981 | Ipswich Town | 228 | (24) |
| 1982 | Colchester United | 4 | (0) |
| 1982 | Middlesbrough | 4 | (0) |
| 1983–1986 | Barnet | ||
| Harwich & Parkeston | |||
| 1983–1984 | Sandvikens IF | ||
| 1987 | Kongsberg IF | ||
| 1988 | Nybergsund IL-Trysil | ||
| Clacton Town | |||
| International career | |||
| 1972–1975 | England U23 | 9 | (1) |
| 1975–1977 | England | 9 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Thomas Kevin Beattie (18 December 1953 – 16 September 2018) was an English footballer. Born into poverty, he played at both professional and international levels, mostly as a centre-half. He spent the majority of his playing career at Ipswich Town, the club with which he won both the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup. He was also named the inaugural Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year at the end of the 1972–73 season, and featured in the film Escape to Victory alongside many of his Ipswich teammates.
Beattie's playing career took him from rags to riches, but according to The Daily Telegraph he was "cursed by being both injury and accident prone".[2] His playing career included some controversy, notably when he went missing after being selected for England's under-23 team. After retiring from playing he descended into unemployment and alcohol abuse, and contemplated suicide, before finding purpose once more and a new career in later life, as a football commentator on television and radio.
Beattie has been called Ipswich Town's best ever player by many pundits and polls. Ipswich (and later England) manager Bobby Robson called him the best England player he had seen.
- ^ Finch, p. 56.
- ^ Philip, Robert (2 March 2007). "Beattie battles back from the brink". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.