Richard Duckworth (6 June 1906 – 9 April 1983) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager.

Playing career

Duckworth was a utility player and began his career with Castleton Juniors, subsequently moving on to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, Chesterfield,

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

and

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

. At York, he was captain when the team reached the sixth round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Managerial career

Duckworth began his managerial career as player-manager with non-league Newark Town. After working as a coach with Chesterfield, he moved to manage

in March 1950. His last game as York's manager was against

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

on 18 October 1952, who he had agreed to join three days earlier, and took up their managerial duties following the game. After four years with the club, he joined

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

and later

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

. During his time at Scunthorpe he steered the club to its highest-ever league finish of 4th in Division Two in 1962. However, the club were relegated two years later, and Duckworth was sacked after a bad start to the following season. It proved to be his last role in club management. He died in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

in 1983, aged 76.

Family

Duckworth was the son of professional footballer Dick Duckworth, who spent the majority of his career with Manchester United, and the nephew of fellow professional Dick Crawshaw, who played in the Football League with

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, Halifax Town and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Honours

As a player

Chesterfield * Third Division (North) Title winner: 1930–31 Chester City *Welsh Cup winner: 1933

As a manager

Stockport County *Cheshire Bowl winner: 1952–53, 1955–56

Managerial statistics

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duckworth, Dick 1906 births People from Harpurhey 1983 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Rochdale A.F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Southport F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players York City F.C. players Newark Town F.C. players English Football League players English football managers York City F.C. managers Stockport County F.C. managers Darlington F.C. managers Scunthorpe United F.C. managers English Football League managers Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff 20th-century English sportsmen