Ellis had two spells as Villa chairman, firstly between 1968 and 1975, then from 1982 until 2006 when the club was sold to Randy Lerner

Former Aston Villa chairman Sir Doug Ellis has died aged 94.

Ellis had two spells as Villa chairman, firstly between 1968 and 1975, then from 1982 until 2006 when the club was sold to Randy Lerner.

He was nicknamed “Deadly Doug” by Jimmy Greaves for his numerous sackings of various managers at Villa Park.

Ellis was chairman for 14 managers at the club in all.

He was initially ousted from the board following his first spell in 1979, after which Villa enjoyed their most successful spell in modern history, winning the league in 1981 and the European Cup in 1982.

They were relegated to the second division following Ellis’s return but did gain promotion and went on to win two League Cups and finish runners-up in the league on two occasions.

Tommy Docherty, Graham Taylor, Ron Atkinson and Martin O’Neill were among the managers to grace the Villa Park dugout over the course of Ellis’s two spells as chairman.

In his earlier life, Ellis had a brief glimpse of a football career with Tranmere Rovers, spending two years as a schoolboy with the Merseyside club.

He became a millionaire before the age of 40 by pioneering package holidays to Spain.

Ellis relinquished control of Villa in 2004 aged 80 while suffering from prostate cancer, appointing Bruce Langham as chief executive, who resigned the following year.

He was appointed as an OBE in 2005 and later that year underwent a heart bypass operation before returning to his role at Villa Park following a three-month absence.

Ellis sold Villa to Lerner in August 2006 in a deal worth £63million.

He became a life president of the club and was knighted for his charity work in March 2012.