Ronald Henry Blackman (2 April 1925 – 16 February 2016), known as Ronnie or Ron Blackman, 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 le ...

. Blackman played a vital role in the Reading team that finished second in the 1951–52 Third Division, narrowly missing out on promotion. Towards the end of that season, within the space of three weeks, Blackman scored a total of 10 goals at Elm Park – including five goals against Southend United on 14 April and four against Bournemouth on 3 May to end the season on a high note. He scored 39 league goals that season and another goal in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, a league club record which has yet to be equalled six decades later, although

Trevor Senior Trevor Senior (born 28 November 1961) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker, primarily at Reading. He is the assistant manager of Dorchester Town. Playing career Senior was born in Stratton, near Dorchester, Dorset. He ...

edged ahead by scoring 41 goals in all competitions in 1983–84. Blackman died on 16 February 2016. A minute's applause was held in his honour before Reading's FA Cup tie with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

on 19 February 2016.

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* 1925 births 2016 deaths Footballers from Portsmouth Men's association football forwards English men's footballers Gosport Borough F.C. players Reading F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players Tonbridge Angels F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-forward-1920s-stub