Ronald "Ron"/"Ronnie" James (5 February 1938) is a Welsh former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Ystalyfera RFC Ystalyfera Rugby Football Club are a Wales, Welsh rugby union club based in Ystalyfera in south Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is also a feeder club for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys. The club received Welsh Rugby ...

and

Maesteg RFC Maesteg is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translation of Mae ...

, as a fullback, i.e. number 15, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

and Commonwealth XIII, and at club level for Halifax ( Heritage № 715), as a , i.e. number 1.

Playing career

International honours

Ron James represented

(RL) while at Halifax, he played in the 2-19 defeat by St. Helens at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside, was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For a period, the venue also hosted ...

, St. Helens on Wednesday 27 January 1965, to mark the switching-on of new

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

s. and represented Commonwealth XIII (RL) while at Halifax in the 7-15 defeat by New Zealand at Crystal Palace National Recreation Centre,

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 ...

on Wednesday 18 August 1965.

Championship Final appearances

Ron James played in Halifax's 15–7 victory over St. Helens in the 1964–65

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1964–65 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 22 May 1965.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 70 – 1964–65".

Rugby Leaguer Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

ISBN n/a

County Cup Final appearances

Ron James played , and scored 2-

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

s in Halifax's 10-0 victory over the

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship (rugby league), Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rover ...

in the 1963–64

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1963–64 season at Belle Vue,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

on Saturday 2 November 1963.

Career Records

Ron James holds Halifax's "Most Career Points" record with 2191 points, and is one of less than ten Welshmen to have scored more than 2000-points in their rugby league career.Robert Gate (1988). "Gone North - Volume 2". R. E. Gate.

Testimonial match

Ron James'

Testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

at Halifax took place in 1971.

Honoured at Halifax RLFC

Ron James is a Halifax RLFC Hall Of Fame Inductee.

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Ronald 1938 births Living people Halifax R.L.F.C. players Maesteg RFC players Other Nationalities rugby league team players Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Neath Port Talbot Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Neath Port Talbot Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players