Class of '66 pays tribute to Ball at thanksgiving service

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) Former England team mates paid tribute to Alan Ball today at a thanksgiving service for the widely-admired ex-midfielder, who died last week aged 61.

Ball, the youngest member of England's 1966 World Cup-winning side, suffered a heart attack in the garden of his Hampshire home after trying to deal with a bonfire that had got out of control.

He is the second member of the side that beat West Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley to have passed away. Captain Bobby Moore died of bowel cancer in 1993.

At Thursday's funeral and service in Winchester Cathedral, Ball's coffin was draped in a flag with the red and white cross of St George and adorned by one of his trademark flat caps.

World Cup team mate Nobby Stiles told the service that Ball was ''the best player on the pitch by far'' in the 1996 final. ''He covered every blade of grass -- he was unbelievable.'' Frank McLintock, the former captain of Arsenal where Ball played in the 1970s, told the congregation he had been on holiday with the footballer a month before his death.

''We were in Mauritius, playing golf and singing at the bar, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett songs till one o'clock in the morning.

''We used to sing till two or three but we were getting a little bit older and a little bit wiser.'' The service was relayed on speakers outside the cathedral to hundreds of members of the general public.

The midfielder, who also played at Everton and Southampton, won 72 caps for his country, scoring eight goals, before moving into management.

Fans of clubs around the country paid tribute to Ball at matches last weekend with a minute's applause.

Ball started his career with Blackpool before moving to Everton in August 1966 for a British record transfer fee of 110,000 pounds.

Eighteen months later, he was sold to Arsenal for 220,000 pounds.

He spent five years at Arsenal before joining Southampton where he had two spells, interrupted by a brief period in North American soccer, before finishing his playing career at Bristol Rovers in 1983.

Ball then enjoyed a varied managerial career, taking charge of Portsmouth twice, Manchester City, Southampton, Blackpool, Stoke City and Exeter.

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