Ronald Hughes (1 July 1930 – 30 July 2019) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a full-back. He spent his entire professional career with

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 ...

from 1950 to 1962, where he made the second most

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances in the club's history after featuring in 399 games.

Playing career

Hughes joined Chester in September 1950 after completing his army service, having previously played for hometown club Mold Alexandra. His

debut arrived in March 1952 in a 5–0 win at

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 ...

. Hughes went on to be a regular for the next decade, predominantly in the right-back spot. He didn't miss a first-team game between September 1956 and September 1958, and most other campaigns saw him miss very few games. As a reward for his loyalty, Hughes was awarded testimonial matches against Everton in 1957 and an All-Star XI in 1961. Despite being a regular for so long, Hughes was released at the end of the 1961–62 season, his final appearance being a 2–0 loss at

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

on the final day. His long-term defensive colleague

Ray Gill Ray Gill (8 December 1924 – 17 September 2001) was an English footballer. He holds the Football League appearance record for Chester. The full-back played in 406 league games for Chester from 1951 to 1962, putting him seven ahead of Ron Hug ...

was also allowed to leave, having made seven more league appearances for Chester than Hughes. They remain the two highest

appearance makers for Cheste
Club Records
Hughes dropped back into non-league football with

Holywell Town Holywell Town Football Club () is a Welsh football club from Holywell, Flintshire. They are nicknamed 'The Wellmen', and play their home games at the Bartons North Wales Stadium (commonly known as 'Halkyn Road'), Holywell. They currently pla ...

and had a spell back at Mold as manager in the 1970s. He later worked for the education department of

Clwyd County Council Clwyd County Council () was the county council of the county of Clwyd in north-east Wales, from its creation in 1974 to its abolition in 1996. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974. The county council was based at the Shire Hall in Mold. On 1 ...

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Ron 1930 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Mold, Flintshire Footballers from Flintshire Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders Mold Alexandra F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Holywell Town F.C. players English Football League players Welsh football managers