Mr. William Hill’s
Biography

As a result of decades of work and dedication, William Hill has been at the top of the gambling industry for decades. The name of the company speaks volumes about the fame and luster characteristic to the organization. Just about everyone who has ever bet online knows it well. But where did this name originate? It sure sounds like a person’s name. Well, it is.

Mr. William Hill is the one who gave the company its name. He set its foundations at a time when sports betting activities, let alone casino gambling or anything related to it, were illegal and marginalized. This was especially true in the UK, William’s native land and lifetime home. A series of events – some positive, other less so – set the course for the brand to become what it is today. Many of them took place after William Hill’s death, but the lore-providing and tradition-engulfed ones transpired during his tumultuous life.

The Early Years

William’s father was a journeyman coach-painter. His mother was a daughter of a farmer who also owned an inn on the border of Leicestershire and Warwickshire.

At the age of twelve, young Will decided to quit school so he could work on his uncle’s farm. However, later he became an apprentice at BSA Works in Birmingham. It was during that time, when he was still a teenager, that he began his bookmaking activity. Nowadays, one would imagine him setting up a small shop to build on by adding space and making technological improvements. That, though, was not the case by any means. He collected illegal bets from people living in the city and its surrounding areas by riding a motorized bicycle.

In 1919, bookmaking enter a short hiatus for William Hill as he joined the Black and Tans (a British military group that fought the Irish during their war of independence and is still perceived controversially). Dispatched a few miles outside the town of Mallow, his job was to guard homes belonging to the gentry. In his spare time, however, he hung out at an in-town pub whose owners came to like him. Foleys were concerned for his safety as a guard. They petitioned the commanding officer to let William stay in town, a request that was granted.

After completing his service duty, William Hill resumed bookmaking by taking horse racing bets. Soon, it all began to crumble and he quickly went bankrupt. Nevertheless, his resilience and determination prompted him to start over. This time he was careful, and built his business slowly but surely. Eventually, he put together enough money to move to London. Before doing that, he married Ivy Burley (in 1923), a hairdresser from Birmingham.

Gradual progress

In the capital, Mr. Hill started out by accepting pony racing bets for events held at Northolt Park. It was the only trotting track in Britain at the time. He became focused on greyhounds, an activity that brought him enough success so as to rent an office on Jermyn Street in 1934. It was there that he began to accept credit and postal betting, as these activities were not specifically prohibited by law. Later, Mr. Hill relocated to Park Lane, where his new office was much bigger and better equipped. Building up on that, he soon produced the first fixed-odds football betting coupon (in 1944). He established a separate agency to deal with football wagering.

His great passion was horse breeding, though. As soon as he could afford to undertake such a task, he purchased his first stud. After that, years of success followed. In 1946, Nimbus was foaled, later sold for 5,000 guineas and then the horse won the 1949 Two Thousand Guineas and Derby. Chanteur II, one of his stallions, sired Pinza the winner of the 1953 Derby. Be Careful won him the Gimcrack Stake and the Champagne Stake in 1958, while Cantelo (a filly) brought him a Classic victory.

On-course betting remained at the top of the list for Mr. Hill. At important events like Epsom, Ascot or Newmarket he would accept £20,000 per race while competing against big names such as Percy Thompson, Willie Preston, Hector Macdonald and Jack Burns. One time he booked Raymoung Guest 100/1 to £500 for a foal that had just been born to win the Derby. Sir Ivor, as the foal was called, eventually won the Derby at 5-4, triggering a huge embarrassment to the company. But that was not what made William Hill abandon on-course betting. During the 1955 Royal Ascot meeting, his runner could not fetch takers for a £4,000 bet that Mr. Hill wanted to lay off. At that point, he impulsively decided to quit.

The Twilight Denouement

In 1960, a rival company went into the football betting business. Hill subsequently sued them for copyright infringement on his coupon. This case went all the way to the House of the Lords, with Mr. Hill being the winner.

In 1961, betting shops became legal in the United Kingdom. This presented William Hill with an immense business opportunity. However, he declined to take advantage of it. His reason for doing so was that such locales would transform betting from a mostly aristocratic occupation to a mass one, thus harming the working class (Mr. Hill was rather socialist in his political views). However, many other companies set up shops and earned considerable revenues, out-competing WH. Still, business was going well for William, as he still activated in credit betting and fixed odds. VIP-IBC betting platform means all the odds in one place, best Bookmakers and best sport selections, register today for a VIP-IBC account and make yourself a winner.

But in 1966 Mr. Hill gave in and opened his first
legal physical shop,

more as a response to the entreaties of his friend Jack Swift, who kept telling him to go for it before it would be too late. Things began to improve as television entered the picture, making betting shops more and more popular and the company was slowly growing to be the huge operation that it is today.

During his final years, William Hill focused on breeding and even possessed some stud farms in England. In 1970 he retired while still attending events. It was during one of them, the October Sales at Newmarket in 1971, that he had a heart attack, dying at the Rutland Hotel on 16 October 1971.

His life became the subject of a novel – The Betting Man: A Racing Biography of William Hill by Joe Ward Hill.

Mr. William Hill’s Biography