Robert "Roy" Rea (28 November 1934 – 5 April 2005) was a
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
international
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 ...
who played in the
Irish League as a goalkeeper with
Glenavon and
Glentoran
Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882.
History
Early history
In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...
. He won one 'B' cap, and four amateur caps for Northern Ireland and thirteen inter-league caps for the Irish League in the 1950s.
With Glenavon, he won the Irish League championship in 1956/57, two
Irish Cup
The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...
s (1956/57 and 1958/59), one
Gold Cup and one
Ulster Cup
The Ulster Cup was an annual football competition held by the Irish Football League for senior clubs.
History
Beginning in 1949, it was held on fifty-one occasions until being suspended after the 1998/99 season and discontinued after a one-of ...
. With Glentoran he won the Gold Cup in 1962/63; the same year in which he was named
Ulster Footballer of the Year
The Ulster Footballer of the Year is the older of two association football player of the year awards in Northern Ireland. (The other is the Northern Ireland Football Writers' Association award.) It is awarded by Castlereagh Glentoran Supporters ...
.
[M. Brodie (ed.), ''Northern Ireland Soccer Yearbook 2009–2010'', p. 102. Belfast:Ulster Tatler Publications] In 1963, he played in the
Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League
The Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada. The league operated for six seasons from 1961 to 1966 across four cities in two Canadian provinces and one American state. In the 1960s, the Eastern Canada Professional ...
with
Toronto Italia
The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...
.
Although he never won a full international cap, Rea was a member of the
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
squad at the
1958 World Cup, as the second reserve goalkeeper, but did not travel to Sweden.
References
External links
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
1934 births
2005 deaths
Association footballers from County Down
Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland
NIFL Premiership players
Ulster Footballers of the Year
1958 FIFA World Cup players
Glenavon F.C. players
Glentoran F.C. players
Sportspeople from Banbridge
Toronto Italia players
Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada
Expatriate men's association footballers from Northern Ireland
Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Canada
Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players
Men's association football goalkeepers
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