Raymond Straw (22 May 1933 – 13 May 2001) was an English professional footballer. During a professional career that lasted twelve years, he scored over 140 goals in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in spells with

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

and

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. His 37 league goals for Derby during the 1956–57 season remains a joint club record.

Career

Derby County

Straw was born in the village of

Kirk Hallam Kirk Hallam is a village in the south-east of Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. It was part of the former Ilkeston borough and is largely regarded today as a part of the much larger town of Ilkeston which adjoins it to the north east. Si ...

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

. After leaving school, he worked as a coal miner and played football for non-league side Ilkeston Town, having previously represented his county school level. In August 1951, he joined First Division side

and made his professional debut in the last match of the 1951–52 season against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

at the age of 18. However, he was called up for his national service soon after and did not become a regular in the Derby first team until they had been relegated again. His breakthrough season came in 1955–56 when he scored fourteen goals for Derby as they finished second 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 ...

behind

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

. The following year, Straw's brother offered him a bonus of half a crown for every goal he scored and ten

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s for every hat-trick. During the season, Straw went on to score 37 goals in league games, equalling the club record set by

Jack Bowers John William Anslow Bowers (22 February 1908 – 4 July 1970) was an English footballer, who was twice the top scorer in the Football League and made three appearances for England. Playing career Early days Bowers was born in Low Santon, nea ...

during the 1930–31 season, as Derby finished as winners of the Third Division North.

Coventry City

In November 1957, Straw joined

after impressing manager

Billy Frith William Frith (9 June 1912 – 1996) was an English football player and manager. Starting his career with Worksop Town, Mansfield Town, and Chesterfield; he won a move to Coventry City in 1932. He stayed with the club right up until the outbr ...

, making his debut in a match against

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

on 23 November 1957. After arriving at the club, he was given the nickname "toffee" due to his penchant for chewing sweets. Straw finished as Coventry's top goalscorer in all four of the seasons he spent at the club, helping them achieve promotion to 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 ...

during the 1958–59 season after scoring 27 goals. His total included a streak of scoring in eight consecutive league and cup matches, the longest streak of any Coventry player after World War II. By appearing in the Third Division the following season, Straw became the first player to have played in all six divisions of the

, from the First Division to the Fourth Division and the North and South sections of the Third Division. He left Coventry in 1961 to join

where he finished his professional career. He later played for non-league side Lockheed Leamington.

Honours

Derby County *

Football League 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 In sports leagues, promotion and ...

winner: 1956–57

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straw, Ray 1933 births 2001 deaths English men's footballers Ilkeston Town F.C. (1945) players Derby County F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Leamington F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Ilkeston