Ronald Frederick Stitfall (14 December 1925 – 22 June 2008) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

international. A one club man he played his entire career for his hometown club Cardiff City.

Career

Born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, Stitfall was a keen Cardiff City fan, often attending games 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 fixtu ...

before going on to join the club in 1939, making his debut in a wartime friendly at the age of 14 against Swansea Town. He went on to feature in a number of friendlies for the club before serving in the army for four years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He eventually returned to play for Cardiff in 1947 and made his professional debut for the club in October 1947 when he started a match against

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

at left-back in place of

Alf Sherwood Alfred Thomas Sherwood (13 November 1923 – 12 March 1990) was a Welsh international footballer. Between 1947 and 1957, he gained a total of 41 caps, the first on his 23rd birthday, against England in 1946. Known as the King of the sliding tac ...

who was away on international duty for Wales. The match finished 0-0 due to Stitfall making a last minute goal line clearance to save a point for the Bluebirds. In his first few years at Cardiff he played in numerous positions, including scoring five times during a spell wearing the number nine shirt as a striker during the 1949–50 season. Despite this he went on to score just eight league goals during his entire league career. For more than a decade he formed a formidable full back pairing with another Cardiff City great and Wales international in Alf Sherwood, who eventually left the club in 1955. In total Stitfall played as a professional for Cardiff for eighteen seasons before retiring. During his career at Cardiff he also played alongside his two brothers at the club. Albert Stitfall made a handful of appearances alongside Ron in the first team and Bob Stitfall played as a goalkeeper for the club and, although he never made a professional appearance for the club, he did play alongside his brothers for the reserve side. During his career Stitfall gained two caps for Wales, making his debut in a 5–2 defeat against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 12 November 1952 and winning his second cap five years later against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

in May 1957. After retiring he became a youth coach at Cardiff, including coaching

John Toshack John Benjamin Toshack (born 22 March 1949) is a Welsh former professional football player and manager. He began his playing career as a teenager with his hometown club Cardiff City, becoming the youngest player to make an appearance for the ...

who was in the youth system at the time, before joining the training staff at Newport County. He later went on to become kit manager for the Welsh national side.

Honors

;Cardiff City *

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

Winner: 2 :: 1955-56, 1958-59 *

Runner-up: 1 :: 1959-60

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stitfall, Ron 1925 births 2008 deaths Footballers from Cardiff Cardiff City F.C. players Welsh footballers Wales international footballers English Football League players British Army personnel of World War II Association football defenders