Raymond Spencer (25 March 1933 – 2016) was an English professional
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 ...
who made 156 appearances in the
Football League playing as a
wing half
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
or
centre half
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...
for
Darlington and
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
. He began his career with
Aston Villa without playing for their first team, and went on to play
non-league football for
Bath City
Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...
and
Bridgwater Town. He represented England at schoolboy level.
Life and career
Raymond Spencer was born in
Kings Norton
Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, Engl ...
,
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
, on 25 March 1933.
He played at
inside left
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
for
England schoolboys against their Welsh counterparts at
Highfield Road
Highfield Road was a football stadium in the city of Coventry, England. It was the home ground for Coventry City F.C. for 106 years.
History
It was built in 1899 in the Hillfields district, close to the city centre, and staged its final game ...
,
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, in 1948; a match preview described him as "a born footballer who uses his head and both feet." His younger brother Malcolm, also a schoolboy international, was on the books of
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
but never went on to League football.
Spencer joined
Aston Villa as a junior, and turned professional in June 1950.
[ After four years with no first-team appearances, Villa listed him on a free transfer, but changed their minds and re-engaged him. Despite remaining a Villa player for a further four years, which included a spell of ]National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
in the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
, he never made the first team.[
He signed for Darlington, and finally made his Football League debut just days short of his 25th birthday, on 19 March 1958 in a 2–1 defeat at home to ]Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
in the Third Division North
The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...
. His first senior goal arrived three days later, again in a home defeat, this time against Chester. His progress was interrupted when he broke a leg during a match in October 1958 and was out for five months, but once restored to fitness, he was a regular in the side playing mainly at left half or centre half
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...
for the next two years. His Darlington career is best remembered for his opening goal in the shock defeat of First Division team West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in the inaugural season of the League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
. The ''Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' reported how, "after only twenty seconds, swung the ball over to inside right Bobby Baxter, who teed it up for left half Ray Spencer to slam in a glorious goal from ." Spencer made 106 appearances for Darlington and scored seven goals.
In June 1961, Spencer joined Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
. Although Darlington manager Eddie Carr thought he was worth more than the small fee received, the player wanted to relocate to his wife's home town and the club were "doing a good turn to a good club man." He made 59 league appearances for Torquay, scoring once, in three years at the club. He moved into non-league football, first with Bath City
Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...
, for which he made 10 appearances in all competitions, and then with Bridgwater Town.
Spencer was married to Maeve. He died in 2016.[
]
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Ray
1933 births
2016 deaths
People from Kings Norton
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
English men's footballers
England men's schools international footballers
Men's association football wing halves
Aston Villa F.C. players
Darlington F.C. players
Torquay United F.C. players
Bath City F.C. players
Bridgwater United F.C. players
English Football League players
Southern Football League players