| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ramon Wilson | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1934-12-17)17 December 1934 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Shirebrook,Derbyshire, England[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 15 May 2018(2018-05-15) (aged 83) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Huddersfield,Yorkshire, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1952–1964 | Huddersfield Town | 266 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 1964–1969 | Everton | 116 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Oldham Athletic | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | Bradford City | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 409 | (6) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1960–1968 | England | 63 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1971 | Bradford City(caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Ramon WilsonMBE (17 December 1934 – 15 May 2018) was an English professionalfootballer who played as aleft-back. He was a member of theEngland national team that won the1966 World Cup.
Wilson became an apprenticerailwayman upon leaving school, but was spotted by a scout playingamateur football atHuddersfield Town. He began a combination of working on the tracks by night and training with Huddersfield by day, before being called up fornational service.
Quickly singled out as a strong and nippy left back, with good overlapping skills, by the then-Huddersfield Town managerBill Shankly, Wilson signed professional forms with the club in 1952 after his two-yeararmy posting,[1] and made his debut againstManchester United in October 1955.[3] Two years later, Wilson was Huddersfield's established, first-choice left back.[4] As well as the full England side, he was selected for various representative teams such the Football League and an 'FA XI'.[5]
In 1964, Wilson joinedEverton,[3] 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 theFA Cup with Everton in1966. Two years later, he was on the losing side, as Everton were beaten byWest Bromwich Albion in the1968 FA Cup final. Wilson's fortunes declined at Everton following another injury, and he was granted a free transfer in 1969, missing out on Everton'sFirst Division title in 1970.
Wilson moved toOldham Athletic on a free in 1969. In 1970, he moved again to Bradford City.[3] He served as caretaker manager at Bradford from September to November 1971, after the departure ofJimmy Wheeler. He took command for ten games, before being succeeded byBryan Edwards.[6]
In April 1960, Wilson won his first cap for England in a 1–1 draw withScotland.[1] Over the next 12 months, he became a fixture in the side. TheFA selection committee put him in the squad for the1962 World Cup in Chile, and Wilson played in all three group games and England's elimination in the quarter finals at the hands ofBrazil.[1]
After the World Cup, Wilson kept his England place under new managerAlf Ramsey. 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 asLiverpool'sGerry 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 ofUruguay,Mexico andFrance; a highly volatile quarter-final against a violentArgentina, and a semi-final against the skilful but enigmaticPortuguese, which was Wilson's 50th appearance for his country.
Wilson was the oldest member of the England team in the World Cup final againstWest Germany.[7] His early headed clearance fell to strikerHelmut Haller, who gave the Germans the lead as a result, but after ahat-trick fromGeoff Hurst, England ran out 4-2 winners.
Ramsey continued to select Wilson as England progressed through the qualification process forUEFA Euro 1968, 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 againstthe 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 byGary Neville andAshley Cole.
A serious knee injury suffered in the summer of 1968, coupled with the emergence of youngLeeds United full-backTerry Cooper (who would be as impressive in the1970 World Cup as Wilson was in 1966, despite England's elimination in the last eight), ended Wilson's England career.
Wilson after his playing days ended built anundertaker's business inHuddersfield.[1] Wilson retired as an undertaker in 1997 toHalifax. In 2000, he and four of his 1966 teammates – Hunt,George Cohen,Nobby Stiles andAlan Ball – were appointedMBE for services to football after a high-profile campaign conducted by sections of themedia, 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 theEnglish Football Hall of Fame by a select committee of ex-footballers.
He lived inSlaithwaite 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 bookNo More Worlds to Conquer by Chris Wright (2015).
Wilson was diagnosed withAlzheimer's disease in 2004,[8] 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.[9]
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:
We are very grateful and humbled that Huddersfield Town have chosen to honour our father with this kit. We have spoken to him about it and he is absolutely delighted. Ray often reminisces about his playing days and in particular his enjoyable time at Town and we'd like to thank the club for doing this tribute and it is lovely to know that Ray is so well thought of at Town.[10]
On 15 May 2018,[11] Wilson died in a care home inHuddersfield from Alzheimer's disease after suffering from the condition for 14 years.[12]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Huddersfield Town | 1955–56 | First Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 1956–57 | Second Division | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| 1957–58 | Second Division | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 51 | 0 | |||
| 1958–59 | Second Division | 42 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 48 | 0 | |||
| 1959–60 | Second Division | 41 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 46 | 0 | |||
| 1960–61 | Second Division | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 45 | 0 | ||
| 1961–62 | Second Division | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 53 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | Second Division | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| 1963–64 | Second Division | 29 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| Total | 266 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 283 | 6 | ||
| Everton | 1964–65 | First Division | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 1965–66 | First Division | 35 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| 1966–67 | First Division | 30 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1967–68 | First Division | 28 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| 1968–69 | First Division | 4/2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0 | — | 6/3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 114/2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0/1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 150/3 | 0 | ||
| Oldham Athletic | 1969–70 | Fourth Division | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |
| Bradford City | 1970–71 | Fourth Division | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Career total | 407/2 | 6 | 43 | 0 | 5/1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 465/3 | 6 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1960 | 4 | 1 |
| 1961 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1962 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1963 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1964 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1965 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1966 | 15 | 0 | |
| 1967 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1968 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 63 | 0 | |
Everton
England
England squads | |||||||||||||
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| International | |
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| National | |
