Ray King (footballer)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Raymond King[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 15 August 1924||
Place of birth | Radcliffe, Northumberland, England | ||
Date of death | 19 July 2014 | (aged 89)||
Place of death | Bangkok, Thailand | ||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
1942–1945 | Newcastle United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1945–1946 | Newcastle United | 0 | (0) |
1946–1947 | Leyton Orient | 1 | (0) |
1948–1949 | Ashington | ||
1949–1957 | Port Vale | 252 | (0) |
1957–1959 | Boston United | 26 | (0) |
Total | 279 | (0) | |
International career | |||
1954 |
England B | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1957–1960 | Boston United | ||
1960–1963 | Poole Town | ||
1963 | Sittingbourne | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Raymond King (15 August 1924 – 19 July 2014) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He made 278 league and cup appearances in an 11-year career in the Football League. He was the younger brother of Frank and George King.
He began his career with
Early life
Raymond King, the youngest of three brothers, was born in the Northumberland mining village of Radcliffe on 15 August 1924.[3] The family were evicted from their colliery house after his father was suspected of instigating a miner's strike.[4] They briefly attempted to run a fish and chip shop, but had to give up the business when elder brother Frank accidentally burnt the house down.[5] At age eight, he moved with his family to the town of Amble, where his father had secured a position as a check weighman.[6] After he left school at age 14, King began a five-year painter and decorator apprenticeship.[7] Not long after the outbreak of World War II, he spent two years serving in the Home Guard, under the command of his father.[8] He was enlisted into the army in December 1942.[9] He served in the King's Own Royal Regiment, leading his comrades to remark that "he even has his own regiment!".[2]
Club career
Early career
King began his career playing wartime football for Newcastle United, signing a contract of thirty shillings for every first-team appearance, plus a £10 signing-on fee.[10] He made his first-team debut at age 17 against rivals Sunderland at St James' Park.[11] In his autobiography, he states that the night before his debut he slept at a teammate's house, and had to sleep in an armchair after the teammate made gay advances towards him in the only bed in the house.[11] The match, the last of the 1941–42 season, finished level at 2–2.[12] However, during an army cup final, he received a blow on his left knee that resulted in synovitis.[13] After recovering from this injury, defender Ron Suart under-hit a back-pass, and the resulting collision between King and the onrushing attacker led to a thumb injury.[14] He rose to the rank of Corporal,[15] and also guested for Chester City during World War II.[16] In goal for the "Seals" at Goodison Park, Everton's Tommy Lawton hit a penalty shot so hard that it broke King's right wrist.[17] He played 15 games at outside-right with his broken wrist in plaster.[17] After his recovery, he continued to play for the "Magpies" in 1945, but again broke his wrist after punching the crossbar in an attempt to save a shot from Bradford Park Avenue's Len Shackleton.[18]
He returned from his injury to play under Charlie Hewitt at Leyton Orient. He broke his left wrist in his debut against Northampton Town.[19] He took his plaster off early and again broke the wrist in a reserve team clash with Charlton Athletic, leaving him in plaster until May 1947.[20] This was his last game for the "O's", and soon after he departed Brisbane Road. After leaving the army, he returned to play in outfield Amble of the Northern Alliance, only to break his jaw.[21] He returned from injury once again and was signed to North Eastern League club Ashington in 1948.[22]
Port Vale
He joined his brother
The
He missed just one Second Division game in the 1954–55 season. He played the FA Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane despite splitting open his hand.[26] At the end of the season he was offered a £2,500 to throw the match against promotion-chasing Rotherham United; he refused the offer and saved a penalty that would have secured the "Millers" a promotion into the First Division.[27] He featured 41 times in 1955–56,[1] despite spending a brief period on the sidelines after being 'pole-axed' at Filbert Street by Leicester City duo Arthur Rowley and Willie Gardner.[28] He played 39 times in 1956–57, but the arrival of new boss Norman Low signalled the end of King's time at Vale Park and the goalkeeper handed in a transfer request.[1][29] After 275 matches (23 FA Cup and 252 league) he was sold to Boston United for £2,500 in July 1957, where he became player-manager.[1]
International career
King made one international appearance for
Coaching career
King managed
He made a return to the Football League in November 1971, when he was appointed youth team manager at Luton Town by Harry Haslam.[42] His charges included future professionals Andy King, Alan Biley, Lil Fuccillo, and Dave Carr.[43] However, he fell out with Haslam, and left Kenilworth Road during the 1974–75 campaign.[44] He later did scouting work for Southampton, though he quit the role after finding his payment did not meet the costs of driving to watch the players he was scouting.[45]
Personal life and post-retirement
He married wife Norma in October 1949.[46] They were one month off celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, when Norma died.[47] Together they had a son, Gary, in 1951; he became an educator, who taught in Bermuda, New York, and Thailand.[48]
After leaving Oxford, King dabbled in physiotherapy and worked as a masseur at RAF Brize Norton.[49] He failed to find success as a private masseur in Poole, his only customer being a man who left after he discovered his belief that his wife Norma would be giving the massage was erroneous.[50] He later worked as a salesman before becoming a P.E. instructor; in this capacity, he taught aspiring cricketer Mark Austin, who went on to become a well-known journalist.[51]
After leaving Luton, King was employed by the Department for Education as a painting and decorating supervisor for a government training programme.[52] Returning to physiotherapy, he built up a list of clients, including John Lennon.[17] As a physiotherapist in the early 1990s, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female patient, and cleared his name following a four-day trial. He released an autobiography entitled Hands, Feet and Balls, of which only 1,500 copies were printed. In 2011, he released a second book, entitled To the End of the Road.[53] He also wrote columns for the Bangkok Post[54] and The Ambler,[55] a newspaper based in his home town of Amble.
King died after a fall at his home in Bangkok, Thailand on 19 July 2014.[54]
Career statistics
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Newcastle United | 1945–46 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Leyton Orient | 1946–47 | Third Division South | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Port Vale | 1949–50 | Third Division South | 39 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 |
1950–51 | Third Division South | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
1951–52 | Third Division South | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
1952–53 | Third Division North | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
1953–54 | Third Division North | 45 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
1954–55 | Second Division | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
1955–56 | Second Division | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
1956–57 | Second Division | 37 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
Total | 252 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 275 | 0 | ||
Boston United | 1957–58 | Midland League | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
1958–59 | Southern League North-West |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
Career total | 279 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 307 | 0 |
Honours
Port Vale
Poole Town
- Southern Football League First Division second-place promotion: 1961–62
References
- Specific
- ^ ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ^ a b King 1998, p. 33
- ^ King 1998, p. 1
- ^ King 1998, p. 4
- ^ King 1998, p. 5
- ^ King 1998, p. 10
- ^ King 1998, p. 15
- ^ King 1998, p. 21
- ^ King 1998, p. 22
- ^ King 1998, p. 25
- ^ a b King 1998, p. 26
- ^ King 1998, p. 27
- ^ King 1998, p. 37
- ^ King 1998, p. 38
- ^ King 1998, p. 43
- ^ King 1998, p. 46
- ^ a b c Gibson, John (16 May 2006). "Face to face: Ray King". Sunday Sun. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
- ^ King 1998, p. 59
- ^ King 1998, p. 66
- ^ King 1998, p. 67
- ^ King 1998, p. 80
- ^ King 1998, p. 82
- ^ King 1998, p. 98
- ^ King 1998, p. 102
- ^ King 1998, p. 105
- ^ King 1998, p. 140
- ^ King 1998, p. 199
- ^ King 1998, p. 129
- ^ "Ray King transfer request". onevalefan.co.uk. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- ^ "Switzerland B 2–0 England B". England: International Results B-Team. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ King 1998, p. 141
- ISBN 9781844269501
- ISBN 9781844269501
- ^ King 1998, p. 152
- ^ King 1998, p. 153
- ^ King 1998, p. 154
- ^ King 1998, p. 155
- ^ King 1998, p. 156
- ^ King 1998, p. 157
- ^ King 1998, p. 161
- ^ King 1998, p. 163
- ^ King 1998, p. 178
- ^ King 1998, p. 179
- ^ King 1998, p. 184
- ^ King 1998, p. 192
- ^ King 1998, p. 90
- ISBN 9781844269501
- ^ King 1998, p. 100
- ^ King 1998, p. 164
- ^ King 1998, p. 165
- ^ King 1998, p. 173
- ^ King 1998, p. 186
- ^ Brooks, Robert (24 March 2011). "Tales from between the sticks". Northumberland Gazette. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Valiants' legend Ray King dies in Thailand aged 89". The Sentinel. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ "Archives for Ray King". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- ^ Ray King at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ^ "Statistics Season 1957/58". bufc.drfox.org.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "Statistics Season 1958/59". bufc.drfox.org.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-9926579-1-8
- General
- King, Ray (1998), Hands, Feet & Balls, ISBN 0953446700