Raymond John Warne (16 June 1929 – 21 May 2009) was an English professional footballer who played for

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

between 1950 and 1952. A prolific striker, he scored 377 goals for Sudbury Town in twelve seasons at the club.

Biography

Warne was born in Ipswich in 1929.Ray Warne
Barry Hugman's Footballers He began his football career in

non-League Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

and was playing for

Leiston Leiston ( ) is an English town in the East Suffolk non-metropolitan district of Suffolk, near Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, about from the North Sea coast, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at the ...

when he signed for Ipswich in 1950. Warne started in the club's "A" team, then playing in the

Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...

. His first match was against

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

on 19 August; he scored once as the team won 4–3.Games played by Ray Warne in 1950-51
Pride of Anglia After scoring three goals in three games for the "A" team and two in an

East Anglian Cup The East Anglian Cup was a football competition that embraced East Anglian clubs in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, but also included clubs from a much wider geographical area, from Boston and Louth in Lincolnshire down to Oxford City, Chelsea and Gil ...

match, he was promoted to the reserve team in November, making his first appearance for the reserves in a

Football Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

match against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, scoring once in a 4–3 win. After four goals in four reserve team games, and two goals in an Eastern Counties League Cup match, he was promoted to the first team in December. He made his full Ipswich debut in a

Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

match at

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

on 23 December, scoring once in a 2–1 defeat. He scored on his home debut against

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

on 6 January, going on to make 22 first team appearances in the league, scoring 11 goals.Ray Warne
Pride of Anglia The following season he made four appearances in August and September without scoring, after which he largely played for the reserve team. His final first-team appearance was a 1–1 draw with

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on 26 January 1952. In total he played 30 league matches for Ipswich, scoring 11 goals.Ipswich Town
Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database In September 1952 he returned to non-League football, signing for Sudbury Town, where he scored 51 goals in his first season as Sudbury won the Essex & Suffolk Border League.Town goal machine
Suffolk Free Press, 21 May 2009 He then signed for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

, before returning to Sudbury for the 1953–54 season, when was again the club's leading goalscorer with 42 goals. The following season, Sudbury's first in the

, he scored 47 goals. He played for Sudbury for another nine seasons, finishing as top scorer in all but three and scoring 377 goals in total. He died in Ipswich in 2009.

References

1929 births Sportspeople from Ipswich English men's footballers Leiston F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Eastern Counties Football League players English Football League players Sudbury Town F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players 2009 deaths Men's association football forwards {{England-footy-forward-stub