page_title: Billy Bassett
section_title: Director and chairman
hierarchical_section_title: Billy Bassett / Biography / Director and chairman
caption_attribution_description: English: William Isiah "Billy" Bassett, West Bromwich Albion F.C. football (soccer) chairman 1908-37. He had also played for the club in his younger days.
context_page_description: William Isiah Bassett was an English association footballer, director and club chairman who served West Bromwich Albion for over half a century.
context_section_description: 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.
caption: Bassett as chairman of West Bromwich Albion
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