Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Richard Ray | ||
Date of birth | 4 February 1876 | ||
Place of birth | Newcastle-under-Lyme, England | ||
Date of death | 28 December 1952 | (aged 76)||
Place of death | Leeds, England | ||
Playing position | Left-back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1893–1894 | Macclesfield | 17 | (2) |
1894–1895 | Burslem Port Vale | 29 | (1) |
1895 | Crewe Alexandra | 0 | (0) |
1895–1896 | Macclesfield | 7 | (0) |
1896–1900 | Manchester City | 83 | (3) |
190?–190? | Coventry City | ||
1903–1904 | 34 | (0) | |
1904–1905 | Chesterfield | 31 | (0) |
1905–1908 | Leeds City | 38 | (0) |
Total | 239+ | (6+) | |
Teams managed | |||
1919–1920 | Leeds United | ||
1923–1927 | Doncaster Rovers | ||
1927–1935 | Leeds United | ||
1935–1937 | Bradford City | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Richard Ray (4 February 1876 – 28 December 1952) was a professional footballer and manager.
A left-back, he played for Macclesfield, before starting his career in the Football League with Burslem Port Vale in 1894. He switched to Crewe Alexandra a year later, before joining Manchester City in 1896. He spent the next four years with City, helping the club to the Second Division title in 1898–99. He spent time with Macclesfield and Coventry City, before spending one season each with and Chesterfield. He signed with Leeds City in July 1905, and captained the club before he left the club in March 1908.
In 1919, he became Leeds United's first ever manager, before being demoted to Arthur Fairclough's assistant the following year. He took charge at Doncaster Rovers in 1923, and spent four seasons in charge, before returning to Leeds in 1927. He led the club to promotion out of the Second Division in 1927–28 and 1931–32, though he failed to turn Leeds into a stable First Division side. He took the reigns at Bradford City in 1935, but left his post in February 1937.
Ray was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and began his footballing career with local club Audley, before joining Macclesfield in 1893, with whom he won the Cheshire Senior Cup. He joined Burslem Port Vale in 1894. He was a solid performer for the club, however failed to turn up for one match after misreading a train timetable, and was fined five shillings for his trouble. In total he played 29 of the club's 30 Second Division games in the 1894–95 season, and scored his first goal in the Football League on 2 February, in a 2–1 defeat to Manchester City at the Athletic Ground. He departed in the summer of 1895. He spent the 1895–96 season with Crewe Alexandra, but did not make a first team appearance. He instead returned to Macclesfield, picking up a second Cheshire Senior Cup winners medal.