Sir Philip Carter

Died: April 23, 2015.

Sir Philip Carter, who has died aged 87 after a short illness, was a Glasgow-born businessman who became one of the most influential figures in English football in the 1980s and 90s. He was the most successful chairman in the history of Everton Football Club and was also part of the small group of men who kick-started the process that would lead to the formation of the Premier League.

During his time at Everton, the team won two league titles, an FA Cup, a first European trophy and reached the final of the Milk Cup and the FA Cup twice. It was the most consistently successful spell for the club since the 1930s.

In the early 1980s, Sir Philip also came to the view that a new breakaway league was needed for the best English clubs and also held talks with Celtic and Rangers about the formation of a new Super League. In the end, the talks with the Old Firm came to nothing, but after initially being unsupportive, the Football Association reversed its opposition and supported the creation of the new Premier League, which came into being in 1992.

Born in Glasgow, Sir Philip's first experience of football was seeing Everton when he was four years old. His family had moved to Liverpool, with the young Philip attending Waterloo Grammar School. Towards the end of the Second World War, he joined the Fleet Air Arm before joining the retail giant Littlewoods when he was 21. He was a key player in transforming the retail and pools giant into the biggest private company in Europe/

He was to remain at Littlewoods for 35 years, eventually rising right to the top of the company. After becoming a store manager and chief buyer, he became managing director in 1976 and remained so until 1983.

He became chairman on Everton in 1978, two years after becoming a director, and appointed Howard Kendall as player-manager in 1981. By 1983, with the team struggling, the fans demanded that Kendall and Carter quit but Sir Philip expressed his support for his appointee.

"We are not complacent about our present problems," he said. "We are most concerned but let us state unequivocally that our manager Howard Kendall has the absolute support of the board. This is not just a club chairman trotting out a hackneyed phrase; I am stating that categorically."

Sir Philip meant what he said and the team's fortunes began to turn around. Under his stewardship, the club won two league titles, in 1984-85 and 1986-7, an FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup.

The idea of a breakaway league was first mooted as early 1980 and Sir Philip organised meetings to discuss the idea. When he and others approached the Football Association, he was told the idea would be blocked. The plans were then put on hold, although discussions continued behind the scenes. In 1983, Sir Philip told Sir Norman Chester's into the game's finances and structure that the top clubs had become increasingly intolerant of subsidising clubs in the lower divisions.

Sir Philip then became president of the Football League between 1986 and 1988 and by the late 80s and early 90s, the momentum towards a new premier league was unstoppable. It was set up in 1992 and has since gone on to become the most powerful and lucrative sporting organisation in the world.

At the height of his involvement with football, as well as being chairman of Everton and president of the Football League, Sir Philip was a vice president of the FA, chairman of the Merseyside Tourism Board, chairman of the Croxteth Trust, chairman of the Empire Theatre Trust, and a member of the Merseyside Development Corporation.

He relinquished the chairmanship of Everton in 1991 during the Peter Johnson era, but was asked to return by Bill Kenwright in December 1998. In June 2004, at the age of 78, he was made Life President of the club and in 2008 he returned to the boardroom once again, more than three decades after his first appointment as a director.

He made the headlines in 1987 when he condemned racist fans among Everton's supporters. After Liverpool's John Barnes was racially abused by Everton supporters, Sir Philip told them: "Stay away, you scum".

The current chairman, Bill Kenwright, paid tribute to his predecessor, saying: "Sir Philip was simply a giant - a great man, a great leader and the very best friend and colleague anyone could ask for. I never once met him without calling him chairman. I never will."

He was awarded a CBE in 1982 and later a knighthood and is survived by his wife and three children.