William Ronson (22 January 1957 – 8 April 2015) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who spent twelve seasons in the English leagues, one in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

, six in the Major Indoor Soccer League and another seven years in a variety of lower division indoor and outdoor leagues in the United States. He also coached at the collegiate and professional levels.

Playing career

Ronson, the son of

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

stalwart Percy Ronson, began his career at

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, making his debut in March 1975 against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. He originally struggled to break into the side but eventually managed to establish himself in the first team. In 1978, he went on loan to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

of the

. He was unable to prevent Blackpool's relegation during the 1977–78 season and spent one more year at the club before joining

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

for a fee of £130,000, a club record at the time. He missed very few games in his two years at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

before growing disenchanted with the club's lack of progress and leaving to join

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. His only season at Wrexham ended in relegation, and he left to join

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. He became popular at the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

club before falling out with manager Allan Clarke and being loaned to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

before being released and returning to Blackpool on non-contract terms. He moved to America in 1986 to join the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He remained with the Blast for six seasons. The Blast collapsed at the end of the 1991–92 season. In February 2009, the reconstituted Blast inducted Ronson into the team's Hall of Fame. In June 1992, he signed with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

of the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. In 1994, he joined the

Baltimore Bays The Baltimore Bays were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland founded in 1967 as one of the ten charter members of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). When the NPSL and the rival United Soccer Association (USA) me ...

of the

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. On 19 November 1992, he joined the

Detroit Rockers The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan as well as The Palace of Auburn Hills and Compuware Sports A ...

of the National Professional Soccer League. In the fall of 1993, he signed with the

as that team prepared for the 1993–94

indoor season. He was the 1994 Rookie of the Year. He continued with the Bays, playing the 1994 outdoor and 1994–95 indoor seasons. On 26 July 1995, he signed with the

Pittsburgh Stingers The Pittsburgh Stingers are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) for two seasons from 1994 to 1995. Year-by-year Players * Bob Lilley (1994) * P.J. Johns (1995) * David Moxom (1995) * Doug P ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

. In August 1995, Ronson was in an auto accident which put him out for the rest of the season. In June 1996, he joined the

Washington Warthogs The Washington Warthogs were a professional indoor soccer team in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1994 to 1997. They played their home games in the USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland, an arena they shared with the Washington Bulle ...

of the CISL. At the end of the 1996 summer indoor season, Ronson returned to the Bays where he became a player-coach for the 1996–97 USISL indoor season. He was the league's points leader and MVP. In December 1998, he joined the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

on a 15-day contract.

Coaching

In 1993, Ronson became the head coach of the

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland. It was chartered in 1885 by a conference in Baltimore led by namesake John F. Goucher and local leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church.https://archive.org/details/h ...

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

women's soccer team. He coached the team through the 1997 season, compiling a 41–44–4 record. In 1994, he became an assistant coach with the

. He left the Bays in 1995 to play for the

then returned as a player-head coach of the Bays for the 1996–1997 indoor season. After retiring, Ronson had spells as assistant coach and later assistant general manager at Baltimore Blast. In 2009, he was inducted into the Baltimore Blast hall of fame. His last known employer was an American company named Action Business Systems. He died of natural causes at his home in Perry Hall,

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

, on 8 April 2015.

References

Specific

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronson, Billy 1957 births 2015 deaths American Professional Soccer League players Baltimore Bays (1993–1998) players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Baltimore Spirit players Barnsley F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Continental Indoor Soccer League players English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players People from Fleetwood Pittsburgh Stingers players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players USISL coaches USISL players Washington Warthogs players Wrexham A.F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English football managers