John Ritchie (footballer, born 1941)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | John Henry Ritchie | ||
Date of birth | 12 July 1941 | ||
Place of birth | Kettering, England | ||
Date of death | 23 February 2007 | (aged 65)||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1960–1962 | Kettering Town | 76 | (40) |
1962–1966 | Stoke City | 110 | (64) |
1966–1969 | Sheffield Wednesday | 89 | (34) |
1969–1975 | Stoke City | 159 | (71) |
Total | 434 | (209) | |
International career | |||
1965 | United Kingdom | 1 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
John Henry Ritchie (12 July 1941 – 23 February 2007) was an English footballer. He is Stoke City's all-time record goalscorer.
Ritchie began his career with his hometown club
Career
Born in Kettering, Ritchie is Stoke City's top marksman of all-time having scored 176 goals in 351 games during two spells at the club, from June 1962 to November 1966, and from July 1969 to May 1975.[2]
In September 1961 Stoke City manager Tony Waddington was in a telephone conversation with a fellow manager who bemoaned the fact despite finding a fine non-league player his club could not afford him.[1] At the end of that conversation Waddington rang around several colleagues to ask about John Ritchie, and he learned of a big strong striker who had scored 40 goals for non-league Kettering Town.[1] Impressed by what he heard Waddington contacted Kettering and completed the deal immediately despite never seeing him play. Ritchie actually took a pay drop to join Stoke as he had been working in a local shoe factory and playing part-time.[1] In his first season at Stoke Ritchie only made sporadic appearances while Dennis Viollet and Jackie Mudie held sway in the first team.[1]
Three months into the
Ritchie scored thirty goals in his first full season as a professional and 29 the following season and was a firm terrace favourite.
Ritchie returned as
After football
The 6 foot 2 hitman ended his career after a double leg fracture in 1975. After retiring from football, he concentrated on his pottery business based in Stoke. John Ritchie died on 23 February 2007 at the age of 65.[3] His son David was on the books at Stoke in the late 1989 but never made an appearance being sold to Stockport County for £10,000 in March 1990.
Style of play
Standing 6 ft 2 in tall and weighing 12 st 4 lbs, Ritchie was christened 'Big' John Ritchie by Stoke supporters. He was one of a dying breed of direct and fast centre forwards in the mould of a Freddie Steele, Tommy Lawton and Nat Lofthouse, Ritchie used his burly frame to good effect, shrugging off defenders with ease.[1]
Legacy
He is remembered by a bust behind the Boothen End at Stoke's Bet365 Stadium.[4] On the bust is a plaque which reads:
John Henry Ritchie was born on 12th July 1941 in Kettering where he began his footballing life playing for his home club of Kettering Town. On the enthusiastic recommendation of a talent scout, he was signed by Tony Waddington for Stoke City, moving up to Staffordshire from Northamptonshire in May 1962. His wife Shirley remembers crying all the way but they were to settle happily here in The Potteries. In April 1963, he made his professional debut alongside Sir Stanley Matthews. In his first season, Stoke were promoted from the Second Division to the top tier of English football. Playing in the First Division was a challenge John rose to superbly, ending that season with 30 goals. His brave performances elevated him to cult status and he would go on to score a remarkable number of goals in the following three seasons. Despite scoring 30 goals in 47 appearances in his third season at the club, he was sold for £70,000 in 1966 to Sheffield Wednesday where he made 89 appearances and scored 34 goals. After three seasons, fans rejoiced to see John rejoin his beloved Stoke City in the Summer of 1969 for the fee of £25,000. He repaid the fans' adulation with more goals and heroic displays, leading the attack for the following six campaigns, reaching the FA Cup semi-finals twice and winning the League Cup trophy in 1972. John's career was cut short in 1974 with a double fracture of his leg. He scored an incredible 176 goals in 351 appearances for Stoke. He is Stoke City's top marksman of all time and lives on in our hearts of as one of Staffordshire's greatest sporting heroes.
Career statistics
Source:[5]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Kettering Town | 1960–61 | Southern League | — | — | ||||||||
1961–62 | Southern League | — | — | |||||||||
Total | 76 | 40 | — | — | 76 | 40 | ||||||
Stoke City | 1962–63 | Second Division | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
1963–64 | First Division | 29 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 10 | — | 42 | 30 | ||
1964–65 | First Division | 41 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | 49 | 29 | ||
1965–66 | First Division | 23 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 13 | ||
1966–67 | First Division | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 15 | 9 | ||
Total | 110 | 64 | 9 | 4 | 16 | 13 | — | 135 | 81 | |||
Sheffield Wednesday | 1966–67 | First Division | 24 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 15 | |
1967–68 | First Division | 41 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 49 | 22 | ||
1968–69 | First Division | 24 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 8 | ||
Total | 89 | 34 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 1 | — | 106 | 45 | |||
Stoke City | 1969–70 | First Division | 32 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 16 | |
1970–71 | First Division | 27 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 6[a] | 3 | 40 | 22 | |
1971–72 | First Division | 32 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 7[b] | 4 | 60 | 22 | |
1972–73 | First Division | 31 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2[c] | 1 | 37 | 16 | |
1973–74 | First Division | 30 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 37 | 15 | |
1974–75 | First Division | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | |
Total | 159 | 71 | 18 | 11 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 8 | 216 | 95 | ||
Stoke City total | 269 | 135 | 27 | 15 | 38 | 18 | 17 | 8 | 351 | 176 | ||
Career total | 434 | 209 | 39 | 25 | 43 | 19 | 17 | 8 | 533 | 261 |
- ^ Four appearances and three goals in Anglo-Italian Cup and two appearances in Texaco Cup
- ^ Four appearances and two goals in Anglo-Italian Cup and four appearances and three goals in Texaco Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Cup
- ^ Appearances in Texaco Cup
Honours
- Stoke City
- Football League Second Division champion: 1962–63
- 1972
- 1964
- Watney Cup winner: 1973
References
- ^ ISBN 1-874287554.
- ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
- ^ "John Ritchie - Prodigious Stoke centre-forward". independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ^ "Bust of legend to go under hammer". The Sentinel. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ John Ritchie at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)