Ronald Wyn Davies (born 20 March 1942) is a Welsh former 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 ...

who made over 550

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

appearances in the 1960s and 1970s, and who was also capped by

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 ...

Domestic career

Although he began his career with

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, followed by a successful few seasons for Bolton Wanderers, Davies (nicknamed ''Wyn the Leap'') is perhaps best known for playing for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

between 1966 and 1971. He was notably part of their

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...

-winning team of 1969. He later played for

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, signing prior to the 1971–72 season for £60,000, playing as City won the 1972 FA Charity Shield. He then moved from Maine Road to Old Trafford when he was signed by

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

manager,

Frank O'Farrell Francis O'Farrell (9 October 1927 – 6 March 2022) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a wing half for Cork United, West Ham United and Preston North End. He made over 300 appearances in the Football League before joining ...

on 14 September 1972. He was partnered with another O'Farrell signing,

Ted MacDougall Edward John MacDougall (born 8 January 1947 in Inverness) is a Scottish former footballer. MacDougall was a prolific goalscorer who played for eight teams, scoring 256 goals in 535 League appearances and winning seven full international caps fo ...

. Davies made his league debut for United on 23 September 1972 against champions Derby County at Old Trafford. He scored the opening goal for United in a 3–0 win.

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

signed Davies for £14,000 on 14 June 1973, and he made his debut for the club on 25 August in a 2–2 draw against West Bromwich Albion, the opening League game of the season. On 30 June 1975, Blackpool granted him a free transfer and he joined Stockport County. He also played for Crewe Alexandra before finishing his career with Bangor City.

International career

In total, Davies earned 34 caps and scored six goals for

. His last appearance came against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Katowice Katowice ( , , ; szl, Katowicy; german: Kattowitz, yi, קאַטעוויץ, Kattevitz) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most popul ...

on 26 September 1973.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Wyn 1942 births Living people People from Caernarfon Sportspeople from Gwynedd Welsh footballers Wales under-23 international footballers Wales international footballers English Football League players Association football forwards Wrexham A.F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players