Ramon Wilson, MBE (17 December 1934 – 15 May 2018) 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, rugb ...

who played at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He was a member of the England national team that won the

1966 World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

. He was born in

Shirebrook Shirebrook is a town in the Bolsover district in Derbyshire, England. Close to the boundaries with the districts of Mansfield and Bassetlaw of Nottinghamshire,OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): it had a population of 13,300 i ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Club career

Huddersfield Town

Wilson became an apprentice

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

man upon leaving school, but was spotted by a scout playing

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

football at

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...

. He began a combination of working on the tracks by night and training with Huddersfield by day, before being called up for

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. Quickly singled out as a strong and nippy left back, with good overlapping skills, by the then-Huddersfield Town manager

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish football player and manager, who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool. Shankly brought success to Liverpool, gaining promotion to the First Division and winnin ...

, Wilson signed professional forms with the club in 1952 after his two-year

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

posting, and made his debut against

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 Salford to the west. The ...

in October 1955. Two years later, Wilson was Huddersfield's established, first-choice left back.

Everton

In 1964, Wilson joined Everton, by which time he had already played 30 times for England, and he remains Huddersfield's most-capped England international. However, a torn thigh muscle sustained in training meant that he missed most of his first season at Everton. He went on to win 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 compet ...

with Everton in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

. Two years later, he was on the losing side, as Everton were beaten by

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 pl ...

in the

1968 FA Cup Final The 1968 FA Cup Final was the 87th final of the FA Cup. It took place on 18 May 1968 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between West Bromwich Albion and Everton. West Brom won 1–0 after extra time. Jeff Astle scored the winning goal, thus a ...

. Wilson's fortunes declined at Everton following another injury, and he was granted a free transfer in 1969, missing out on Everton's First Division title in 1970.

Later career

Wilson moved to

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

on a free in 1969. In 1970 he moved again to Bradford City. He served as caretaker manager at Bradford from September to November 1971 after the departure of

Jimmy Wheeler Ernest Alfred Henry Remnant (16 September 1910 – 8 October 1973), known professionally as Jimmy Wheeler, was a British variety theatre comedian and pioneer of radio and television. Earlier in his career he worked with his father in the double ...

. He took command for ten games before being succeeded by Bryan Edwards.

International career

In April 1960, Wilson won his first cap for England in a 1–1 draw with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Over the next 12 months, he became a fixture in the side. The FA selection committee put him in the squad for the

1962 World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place bet ...

in Chile, and Wilson played in all three group games and England's elimination in the quarter finals at the hands of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. After the World Cup, Wilson kept his England place under new manager

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager f ...

. With Ramsey successfully snatching sole responsibility for picking the team from the FA came a firm feeling that Wilson was Ramsey's highest-rated left-back. Others, such as

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

's Gerry Byrne, were given the odd chance, but Wilson remained Ramsey's first choice. As hosts of the 1966 World Cup, England did not have to partake in a rigorous qualifying campaign, and Ramsey experimented with other left-backs as he shaped a squad for the tournament. Later the same year, Wilson was playing at Wembley on six more occasions, ever-present as Ramsey's England got through a World Cup group consisting of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; a highly volatile quarter-final against a violent

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, and a semi-final against the skilful but enigmatic

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, which was Wilson's 50th appearance for his country. Wilson was the oldest member of the England team in the World Cup final against

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. His early headed clearance fell to striker

Helmut Haller Helmut Haller (; 21 July 1939 – 11 October 2012) was a German footballer who played as a forward. At international level, he represented West Germany at three World Cups. At club level, he played in both Germany and Italy, and won Italian l ...

, who gave the Germans the lead as a result, but after a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...

from

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional footballer. A striker, he became the first man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England recorded a 4–2 victory over West Germany at Wembley S ...

, England ran out 4–2 winners. Ramsey continued to select Wilson as England progressed through the qualification process for the 1968 European Championships, ultimately going out in the semi-finals and finishing third overall. Wilson's 63rd and final England cap came in the third-place play-off against the USSR. At the time of his final cap, he held the record for the highest number of appearances for an outfield player without having scored a goal, a record since broken by

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit and former player. He is also a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a comm ...

and

Ashley Cole Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English football coach and former player who is currently a first-team coach at Premier League club Everton. As a player, he played as a left-back, most notably for Arsenal and Chelsea. Cole is cons ...

. A serious knee injury suffered in the summer of 1968, coupled with the emergence of young

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

full-back Terry Cooper (who would be as impressive in the 1970 World Cup as Wilson was in 1966, despite England's elimination in the last eight), ended Wilson's England career.

After retirement from football

Wilson after his playing days ended built an

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker ( British English) or mortician ( American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead ...

's business in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

. Wilson retired as an undertaker in 1997 to Halifax. In 2000, he and four of his 1966 teammates – Hunt, George Cohen,

Nobby Stiles Norbert Peter Stiles (18 May 194230 October 2020) was an English footballer and manager. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. In ...

and Alan Ball – were appointed MBE for services to football after a high-profile campaign conducted by sections of the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, which was surprised that their contribution to England's World Cup win had never been recognised by the British honours system. The other six, plus Ramsey, had already received various honours. In 2008, Wilson was inducted into the

English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and m ...

by a select committee of ex-footballers. He lived in Slaithwaite near Huddersfield with his wife Pat, who was three years his junior. They had two children. Ray and Pat Wilson were interviewed together in the book ''No More Worlds to Conquer'' by Chris Wright (2015). Wilson was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

in 2004, along with World Cup-winning teammates Martin Peters in 2013 and Nobby Stiles in 2012. It is feared that the disease was brought on by their heading of the heavier footballs used in their playing days. On 30 July 2016, fifty years to the day since England lifted the World Cup, Wilson's former club Huddersfield Town released its new second-change kit for the 2016–17 season in his honour. It was released with the tag line "Legends Are Rarely Made", and featured a red shirt, in homage to the 1966 World Cup winning kit, and had Wilson's signature in white, just beneath the collar on the back, and below the white badge on the front. Ray's two sons and his wife released a statement alongside the release: On 15 May 2018, Wilson died in a care home in

from Alzheimer's disease after suffering from the condition for 14 years.

Honours

Everton *

England *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

References

External links

My Yorkshire – Ray Wilson talks about the 1966 victory

BBC radio interview with Ray Wilson, 1999
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ray 1934 births 2018 deaths People from Shirebrook English footballers English football managers England international footballers English Football Hall of Fame inductees Everton F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players UEFA Euro 1968 players Bradford City A.F.C. managers Members of the Order of the British Empire Association football fullbacks English Football League players British funeral directors English Football League representative players Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Sportspeople with chronic traumatic encephalopathy FA Cup Final players