A legend in every sense of the world, Tony made 315 appearances for the Club between 1966 and 1974 before then becoming first team manager.
Appointed captain in 1967, Tony – or ‘Skip’ as he was affectionately and universally known – went on to lead City to one First Division title, one FA Cup, one League Cup, one European Cup Winners’ Cup and one Charity Shield across what was a golden era of success.
The highlight of his time in charge as manager came in 1976 when Tony led City to League Cup glory at Wembley, with Skip also guiding City to runners-up position in Division One in the 1976/77 campaign.
His impact was then further felt in the following decade when, by then serving as youth coach, he helped inspire City to a first-ever FA Youth Cup triumph in 1986.
Tony was subsequently named an Honorary President as well as holding down a role as Life President of our Official Supporters Club and remained a hugely popular member of the matchday legends at our Etihad home games.
He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him and we send our condolences to his friends and family at this difficult time.
Flags around the CFA and Etihad are flying at half mast in tribute to Tony while the City squad will wear black armbands at tonight’s Premier League match against Brentford.
Fans can add their messages to our online condolence book available via the link below.
Tributes
Khaldoon Al Mubarak
For nearly sixty years Tony helped to shape Manchester City.
Not just in what he contributed as a player, Captain and Manager, but in the way he conducted himself. His hopes and ambitions for his club were matched only by his incredible humility regarding his own significant achievements.
He will forever be remembered by our supporters as a man who helped to lay the foundations upon which unprecedented success could be built. A player and leader whose outstanding abilities not only helped return us to the peak of English football, but also delivered our first ever European honour.
Tony’s devotion to his Club meant he was still fulfilling Club duties earlier this season. I will miss seeing him at our games enormously, and witnessing first-hand the regard in which he is held by every generation of the City family.
Mike Summerbee
I first met Tony when he was at Bath City when I was just a young lad and kicked me all over the place! I was about 16 and it was a case of ‘welcome to men’s football, son!’
Then Malcom Allison took him to Plymouth Argyle, and I played against him there – and he kicked me all over the pace again!
Of course, Malcolm came to City and he said to me, ‘What do you think about Tony Book?’ I just said, ‘Yeah, definitely.’
He signed for City not long after and I think he was one of the best defenders the club has ever signed – and that’s not being disrespectful to our other great defenders – he was just an exceptional player and a terrific reader of the game.
He was also a very modest person, and he found it difficult to accept the praise heaped on his shoulders, sometimes because he didn’t think he deserved it.
I was close friends with George Best, and he always said Tony was his most difficult opponent which is quite a compliment given George’s talent.
He’s been associated with Manchester City for almost 60 years and the club was a huge part of his life.
He was a great leader, great captain and a gentleman. As modest a person as you’ll ever meet and a great friend.
He was a superb man. Very humble, kind and he will be sadly missed.
Peter Barnes
It’s such sad news. Tony gave me my debut for City at 18 years of age and he was my boss in the 1976 League Cup final when I scored the first goal.
And he’s always been there – as a player, captain, manager, coach, chief scout, he did everything.
He was so close to my Dad Ken when they were at City together and I always remember when Dad passed away in 2010 Tony was the first person to contact me and was so kind and comforted me so much.
He as such a lovely man and such a huge and a unique figure in City’s history.
He was a humble hardworking man. He was a tough full back and was the same in training.
A very honest man and so good with the young kids at City.
You speak to the likes of Paul Lake and David Lake about what he taught them – they couldn’t have had a better tutor.
He’s done it all – won it as a player, as a manager and as a coach. His impact was incredible.
Tony was such a lovely, lovely man and I’m so sad to hear the news.
Tommy Booth
When we signed Tony in 1966 no-one knew anything about him but we soon found out what a special player and special person he was.
The best thing we ever did was sign Tony and make him captain.
After Malcolm Allison made him captain in 1967 Tony just ran the show.
He was such a good player too – I never saw a winger get the better of him. People forget what a top, top player he was.
He was also such a top bloke – he would help you out in any way and do anything for you.
Tony was such a special manager too. He knew the game inside out as he had come through the lower leagues.
And he was just a fantastic leader – and he was someone who never changed.
Always down to earth and modest – and if you had a problem you could go to Tony and he would sort it out.
He’s such a massive figure in the Club’s history.
Everyone loved him to bits, and he will be missed by so, so many people.
It’s such a sad loss.
Joe Corrigan
He meant everything to me.
Tony was there when I first signed for the Club in 1966 as an amateur and he was skipper when I made my first team debut.
He was a fantastic man, a fantastic captain and a very underrated footballer – such a terrific full back.
Player, captain, manager, coach, his legacy is everything that is good about Manchester City.
He won every single trophy you could win, he was Player of the Year and it shows what an immense figure he was in the era that he played.
And for me he was one of our really, really good managers.
Above all he was a wonderful human being.
He was so kind and would stop and talk football to anyone.
I worked with him as an ambassador on match days and he commanded universal respect.
He epitomised everything that was good about the Club and he is a towering figure in our history.
I consider myself lucky to have played with him and under him as a manager.
I always remember my first League Cup final in 1970 against West Brom when Jeff Astle scored after I was involved in a mix up with George Heslop.
The first person who came up to me in what was the biggest game of my life at the time was Tony. He could have lambasted me - instead he gave me words of encouragement and it meant so much.
His legacy and impact will never be forgotten.
Dennis Tueart
It’s such very sad news.
Tony was Mr Manchester City in so many ways and touched so many areas of the Club.
And everything he did he did it with conviction. You couldn’t divert him from his commitment to the football club.
Tony was also one of the most best man-managers I ever had.
For me he recognised what I could do at my best and I always remember what he said to me on one occasion.
‘Dennis I want you to start wide and go where you can cause some trouble.’
Tony recognised that I could play off the front man and spot those holes and pockets.
That was one of the best instructions I ever had from a manager who really understood me.
He was unbelievably loyal to Manchester City to the nth degree.
And Tony never changed. When I came back to City in 1979 after two years at New York Cosmos he was just the same even though the Club was in a different place.
It’s such a sad day for the Club – he was a really special person.
There will never be another Tony Book – totally loyal and a wonderful figure.
Kenny Clements
It’s a shock. Tony was my first manager and gave me my first chance at City.
He put me in the team, and he was brilliant – and had a special talent with the younger players.
He really looked after me and later, he was fantastic with players like David White, Ian Brightwell and Paul Lake.
He was a wonderful manager and a lovely man and he will be sadly missed.
Paul Moulden
Tony was an absolute gentleman, and it was a pleasure to have worked under him.
He was a lovely man, but a tough disciplinarian as the youth team coach so when you got praise from him, you knew you’d done something pretty special.
I worked with him from the age of 15 until 22 and he was a superb guy.
Ian and David Brightwell’s dad Robbie and Tony were among the biggest influences on my career, and I was lucky to rub shoulders with them.
It is a huge loss for Manchester City and the football world has lost an incredible servant.
Jamie Hoyland (on X)
So sad to learn of the passing of the Manchester City legend Tony Book. Taught me and so many other young players what it took to be a professional footballer.
Thank you Skip and Rest In Peace
Paul Dickov (on X)
So sad to hear the tragic news of the passing of Tony Book. What a guy, an absolute gentleman & a proper legend. RIP Skip.
Brian Horton (on X)
I have just seen about the passing away of Tony.
One of the best colleagues I have known a top player coach and person.
He was fantastic with me when I came to Manchester City
Love & condolences to Sylvia & family.
RIP Skip Val & Brian
Willie Donachie
Tony was like a father to me, as a player and as a man. I didn’t get on with my own father that well, but I respected Tony so much.
He was so good to me in so many ways. He helped me financially, with my game and everything else in my life.
He was a fantastic player and every good manager. I was privileged to play alongside him and then under him and it’s such hard news that I’m still trying to process.
It’s amazing he played to the age he did because players often didn’t go on past 30 back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He won the Footballer of the Year when he was about 35 which is amazing and he was very tough in the nicest possible way – when we trained he was a fierce competitor and ask Peter Barnes – if Peter went past him once, he didn’t go past him again!
I’d not seen him for a while because his health hadn’t been that good for a number of years and I just feel privileged to have worked with him, to have known him and to call him a friend.
He helped everyone and was the most selfless person I ever met and everything about him was great.
He was great man; a real leader a great professional r and I loved him.
Dave Bennett
For him to back me at a time young Black footballers weren’t getting a chance is something I will be forever grateful for.
He gave me my chance and just encouraged me to go out and be myself. He was a wonderful person and I owe him so much because of the career I went on to have.
David Brightwell (on X)
Just been told about the passing of ‘Skip’ Tony Book and gutted to hear the sad news.
He had such an influence on so many of us that came through the ranks at City and I will never forget what he did for me personally.
An absolute City legend.
Paul Lake
I’ve known Tony – ‘Skip’ – since I was 10 years old. He had been speaking with the City scouts and I was invited into Ken Barnes’ office where I met Tony along with my dad when I was 12 ,and he was the one who brought my schoolboy forms to sign aged 14, so I signed my first autograph in front of him!
After Skip had been to my school, I trained regularly with the club’s associated teams and when I was 16, we all came together as apprentices and that’s when we saw Tony every day – more than our own families – and they became our extended family.
There was Glyn Pardoe, Ken Barnes and Skip – and Skip was everything from your mentor, surrogate dad at times, your coach, manager and disciplinarian when needed.
He drove the minibus with the lads in and did so in front of thousands of fans on matchdays, but he had a sort of humility about him and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and muck in and in that respect, he led by example.
In training he was always firm and organised, and he could be quite abrasive when he felt it was necessary – if you got the wrong side of him, you wished you hadn’t! Both he and Glyn used to tell us that we couldn’t call ourselves a player until we’d played 10 games for a club’s first team.
That was something that stuck with all of us throughout our careers and I was the last of the youth team to make it into the senior team at City, but as I waited, I remember Skip saying ‘Don’t worry, son, just bide your time, your chance will come’
Once we were in the first team, Skip was always around, sometimes taking on the caretaker manager role and whenever me and the lads get together and remember those days, the first person that comes into our mind is Tony Book.
For many years I was working alongside Skip and the great Colin Bell on matchdays, and I’d always sit down with him and have a bit of fun, talking about those special days.
Everyone used to do an impression of Skip, but it was always done from a place of love because the things he said and did shaped us all as footballers – and as ambassadors for Manchester City FC – the love and respect he had for the club and everyone connected with the club, Skip epitomised it all and passed that on to each and every one of us.
When we get together to say farewell to Skip, it should be done as a celebration of his life and everything he did for all of us, and I’d like to send my love and my family’s to all Tony’s family and close friends.
He was a rare breed, a one off and a special man but more than anything else, he was Manchester City
Former Manchester City Chief Operations Officer Chris Bird on LinkedIn
Some people leave an indelible mark on our lives, and Tony Book was one of them for me.
My first encounter with him was unforgettable: as a young boy perched on the white Kippax wall, I was watching a reserve match between City and Bury. Tony, playing right-back, cleared the ball with such force that it knocked me clean off the wall.
But what happened next was what truly defined the man. After the game, he asked the policeman who had picked me up to bring me to the tunnel. There, I met Tony, and he gave me the privilege of watching legends like Colin Bell and Franny Lee playing head tennis.
Fast forward 30 years, I joined City and had the immense fortune of spending many memorable times with ‘Skip,’ as he was affectionately known (although I always liked to called him Mr. Book). Whether it was attending supporters’ clubs, dinners, or simply sharing a brew and a chat, Tony always made time for people.
Tony Book wasn’t just a captain or a manager; he was the heart of Manchester City. His achievements on the pitch and in the dugout made him our ‘special one’ but above all, he was a true gentleman—kind, humble, and generous with his time and wisdom.
Thank you, Mr. Book. You’ll forever hold a very special place in my heart and in the hearts of everyone who had the privilege of knowing you.
Rest in peace, Skip.
