Saturday saw the induction of the latest entrants to the Sutton United Hall of Fame, which was launched in 2011 to honour those men and women who have played an outstanding part in creating and maintaining the club’s wonderful history, whether they be players, club officials or supporters. Club chairman Bruce Elliott made the following presentations before the game against Southend.
STEVE KING
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of outstanding service to disability football. Steve King began supporting Sutton in 1975 and played for the Supporters’ Club team for fifteen years. He later became the driving force behind the establishment of the club’s disability football section. On his own initiative, Steve took the necessary coaching and safeguarding qualifications for disability sport and set up the first Sutton United disability team in 2015 . The section has gone from strength to strength, regularly winning local tournaments but also competing internationally in Belfast’s George Best Cup. Steve has established good relations with London’s Premier League clubs, despite regularly beating them, and the section has been a game-changer for so many footballers with a disability. Steve’s good work has been recognized with several awards including the Surrey FA Grassroots Coach of the Year 2020, and he helped the club win the Football Foundation Community Club of the Year in 2017 and the London Football Awards Community Project of the Year in 2024.
BILL SHEPHERD
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of long service to the club as a player and administrator. Bill Shepherd made his U’s debut in October 1929 in an Athenian League game against Southall, having started the season in the reserves. Over the next eighteen seasons he recorded at least 317* appearances in a career interrupted by the war, and scored at least eight goals. (*Records are incomplete for these years). Primarily a left-back, Bill helped the club to win the Surrey Charity Shield in 1934 and 1938 and the coveted Athenian League title in 1945/46. He gained representative honours for the Athenian League and Surrey FA (fourteen games, three as captain) before retiring in January 1947 due to a persistent knee injury. Bill started the 1947/48 season as press secretary before becoming team manager in November 1947, remaining in post until May 1950. He subsequently held numerous other roles within the club before continuing his association with club as a vice-president. Bill’s citation was received by Tony Rains, one of a number of ex-players at the game on Saturday.
SYLVIA AND TONY HOLLAND 
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of outstanding support to the club spanning more than eight decades. Although they lived near each other, Tony and Sylvia started watching the U’s separately, with Sylvia brought to her first game by her grandfather in 1940, aged seven. By the time they were married they had both become regular supporters and in the late 1970s Tony took up a position with the Wine Committee, which he served for some four decades as Treasurer and then Chairman. Soon after, Tony became a club Patron and was also elected onto the club’s management committee, a move which saw Sylvia commence over thirty years of matchday volunteering in the boardroom. She also worked in the club office several days per week. Tony joined the board of Sutton United in 1996 and served as a director for 22 years. Although Tony passed away in 2021, Sylvia continues to watch every home game.
