Ron Harris (English footballer)

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Ron Harris
Personal information
Full name Ronald Edward Harris[1]
Date of birth (1944-11-13) 13 November 1944 (age 79)
Place of birth Hackney, London, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Position(s)
Defender
Youth career
1960–1962
Chelsea
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1962–1980 Chelsea 655 (13)
1980–1983 Brentford 61 (0)
Total 716 (13)
International career
1966–1968
England U23
 4 (0)
Managerial career
1984–1985 Aldershot
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ronald Edward Harris (born 13 November 1944), known by the nickname "Chopper" for his tough style of defending, is an English former footballer who played for Chelsea in the 1960s and 1970s. Harris captained Chelsea to FA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup success, and made a club record 795 appearances. His brother Allan Harris was also a professional footballer and they were teammates at Chelsea in the mid-1960s.

Chelsea

Harris was a member of the Chelsea side which won the

relegation from the First Division alongside the likes of Peter Bonetti, Peter Osgood and Bobby Tambling
.

Upon the club's return to the top division, Harris solidified his reputation as an uncompromising – yet talented – defender with a series of strong (and sometimes notorious) performances. His first honours with Chelsea came with a

England U23 between 1966 and 1968.[3]

That

Ian Hutchinson's headed equaliser to take the game to a replay. During the replay at Old Trafford his late tackle on Leeds' playmaker Eddie Gray
after just eight minutes (just one of many late tackles committed by both sides), left the latter a virtual passenger for the rest of the match: Chelsea eventually won 2–1 after extra-time.

The following season saw Harris lift Chelsea's first major

Real Madrid in Athens. Chelsea also reached a second League Cup final in 1972, but surprisingly lost to Stoke
in what proved to be his last major final for the club.

Moves

While many of Chelsea's star players departed during the 1970s (due to Peter Osgood and Alan Hudson falling out with manager Dave Sexton, and due to the financial crisis caused by the building of the new East Stand, and the financial impact of relegation), Harris remained ever-present in the side throughout a decade which saw them relegated twice and promoted once, although he was replaced as Club Captain by John Hollins at the tail end of the 1971/72 season. Harris was primarily a central defender in the mould of Bobby Moore and Norman Hunter but in later years he was often played out of position as circumstances dictated. After the retirement of Eddie McCreadie, he played at left back for a considerable time and was used as cover at right back when injuries left the financially struggling Chelsea short of cover.

In the closing stages of his career, he also played as a holding midfielder in a role similar to Claude Makélélé, providing a screen for a defence that was often caught out by counter-attacks. Over an 18-year period Harris was rarely out of the first team. In 10 seasons he averaged 41 league games out of 42 and in 5 other seasons he averaged over 37 games. He finally left Chelsea in 1980 to become a player-coach at Brentford, having played a record 795 games for Chelsea.[4] He later had a brief stint as player-manager of Aldershot.

In retirement

Harris was a professional greyhound trainer for several years during the 1990s.[5]

Career statistics

Club Season Division FA Cup
League Cup
 Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chelsea 1961–62[6] First Division 3 0 0 0 0 0 — — 3 0
1962–63[6] Second Division 7 0 0 0 0 0 — — 7 0
1963–64[6] First Division 41 2 3 0 1 0 — — 45 2
1964–65[6] 42 2 5 0 6 0 — — 53 2
1965–66[6] 36 2 6 0 0 0 10[a] 0 — 52 2
1966–67[6] 42 0 7 0 3 0 — — 52 0
1967–68[6] 40 0 5 0 1 0 — — 46 0
1968–69[6] 40 0 5 0 3 0 4[a] 0 — 52 0
1969–70[6] 30 0 8 0 3 0 — — 41 0
1970–71[6] 38 1 3 0 4 0 9[b] 0 1[c] 0 55 1
1971–72[6] 41 0 3 0 9 0 4[b] 1 — 57 1
1972–73[6] 42 1 3 0 7 0 — — 52 1
1973–74[6] 36 2 2 0 1 0 — — 39 2
1974–75[6] 42 0 2 0 4 0 — — 48 0
1975–76[6] Second Division 40 0 4 0 1 0 — — 45 0
1976–77[6] 19 0 2 0 1 0 — — 22 0
1977–78[6] First Division 37 1 4 0 1 0 — — 42 1
1978–79[6] 40 0 1 0 1 0 — — 42 0
1979–80[6] Second Division 39 2 1 0 2 0 — — 42 2
Total 655 13 64 0 48 0 27 1 1 0 795 14
Brentford 1980–81[7] Third Division 29 0 3 0 2 0 — — 34 0
1981–82[7] 20 0 1 0 2 0 — — 23 0
1982–83[7] 9 0 1 0 4 0 — — 14 0
1983–84[7] 3 0 — 2 0 — — 5 0
Total 61 0 5 0 10 0 — 0 0 76 0
Career total 716 13 69 0 58 0 27 1 1 0 871 14
  1. ^ a b Appearances in Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  2. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  3. FA Charity Shield

Honours

Chelsea Youth

Chelsea

Records

  • Chelsea Overall Appearances: 795
  • Chelsea's Most League Appearances: 657
  • Chelsea's Most FA Cup Appearances: 64
  • Special Recognition Award
    : 2010–11

References

  1. ^ "Ron Harris". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  2. OCLC 868301130
    .
  3. ^ "England – U-23 International Results – Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Players Appearances He-Ho". Bounder.friardale.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  5. ISBN 0-948955-22-8
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Ron Harris". 11v11.com. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1906796716
    .

External links
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