Raymond Goddard (13 February 1949 − 11 December 2007) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper, who played for three

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

clubs between 1967 and 1981. Goddard began his career as a member of

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

's youth team, but was released without being offered a professional contract. He subsequently joined

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

, where he spent eight seasons. In 1967 the entire Orient squad was transfer-listed to ease the financial plight of the club, with the exception of Goddard. He was a member of the Orient side that won the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

title in 1969-70, and narrowly missed out on promotion to the top flight in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. In total, he played 278 league games for the O's. Having kept young reserve keeper

Steve Bowtell Stephen John Bowtell (born 2 December 1950 in Bethnal Green, London) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He initially played in The Football League with Orient, but spent most of his career in non-league football, mainly ...

out of the first team for several seasons, Goddard lost his place to the newly signed John Jackson in October 1973. However, he returned to the first team after an injured Jackson was dropped in the O's failed promotion campaign of '73-'74. He suffered a strained relationship with manager George Petchey after first learning of Jackson's promotion, and his own demotion, on the team bus. Before leaving the O's he joined Greenock Morton in Scotland for a month before leaving Orient. In November 1974, Goddard joined Millwall; In February 1978 he joined

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

who had only recently been elected to the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

. He spent four seasons at Wimbledon and was part of the team that won promotion to the Third Division in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, relegated back to the Fourth Division the following year, and then promoted back again in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. In his final match for the Dons, Goddard scored from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. Wit ...

in a 4–2 defeat against

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. After leaving Wimbledon, Goddard finished his career at non-league Wealdstone. After his retirement from football, Goddard moved to Spain where he ran a bar. He died from a stroke in December 2007, aged 58.Tribute to Ray Goddard
''lastingtribute.co.uk''. Retrieved 15 February 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Ray 1949 births 2007 deaths English men's footballers Leyton Orient F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Wimbledon F.C. players Wealdstone F.C. players Footballers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham People from Fulham English Football League players Greenock Morton F.C. players Scottish Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers English expatriate sportspeople in Spain