 Wood in 1957 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Raymond Ernest Wood | ||
| Date of birth | (1931-06-11)11 June 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Hebburn,County Durham, England | ||
| Date of death | 7 July 2002(2002-07-07) (aged 71) | ||
| Place of death | Bexhill-on-Sea, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1948–1949 | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949 | Darlington | 12 | (0) |
| 1949–1958 | Manchester United | 178 | (0) |
| 1958–1965 | Huddersfield Town | 207 | (0) |
| 1965 | Toronto Inter-Roma | ||
| 1965–1966 | Bradford City | 32 | (0) |
| 1966–1968 | Barnsley | 30 | (0) |
| Total | 459 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1954 | England U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1954–1956 | England | 3 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1968 | Los Angeles Wolves | ||
| 1969–1972 | Cyprus | ||
| 1972–1973 | APOEL | ||
| 1973 | Trikala | ||
| 1973–1974 | Salymia | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Raymond Ernest Wood (11 June 1931 – 7 July 2002) was an English professionalfootballer who played as agoalkeeper. RepresentingManchester United, he played in the 1956 and 1957Football League championship-winning teams.
Known for his pace and agility, Wood had the opportunity to be a professional sprinter, but opted instead to play football. He played forEngland at international level on three occasions between 1954 and 1956 and, after retiring from playing in 1968, managed football clubs in the US,Cyprus,Greece,Kenya and theUnited Arab Emirates.
Wood started his career as an amateur withNewcastle United, though he failed to make a first team appearance and moved toDarlington in 1949. He only stayed for three months though before joiningManchester United, making his first team debut against Newcastle atOld Trafford in the league on 3 December 1949. Over the next few seasons he gradually displaced the ageingJack Crompton as United's first choice goalkeeper.[2]
During the1957 FA Cup Final againstAston Villa, Wood was the victim of what was then a perfectly legal shoulder charge. In the sixth minute of the game Wood successfully claimed a cross; however, Villa outside-leftPeter McParland clattered into him, breaking Wood'sjaw due to him ducking to avoid the challenge. As this game was played in the era before substitutesJackie Blanchflower was forced to play in goal following the incident, Wood eventually came back on after treatment to play as a forward, United went on to lose the game 2–1. His compensation for this was aFootball League First Division title medal to add to the first medal he had gained a year earlier.
In 1954, when only 23 years old, he was selected to play for the England team.
In December 1957, United signedHarry Gregg fromDoncaster Rovers for £23,500 – the world record fee for a goalkeeper at the time – and Wood found his first-team opportunities limited.
Wood was among the survivors of theMunich air disaster on 6 February 1958, suffering minor injuries, but played just one first-team game afterwards and was later sold toHuddersfield Town within a year. He spent seven seasons at Huddersfield, playing more than 250 first-team games, although he was unable to help them win promotion to the First Division. In 1965, he played in theEastern Canada Professional Soccer League with Toronto Inter-Roma.[3] He then played one season atBradford City, before finishing his career with two seasons atBarnsley.
Several years after leaving Manchester United, Matt Busby unsuccessfully tried to re-sign him for Manchester United whenHarry Gregg was injured.
He continued as a manager in several countries including United States, Ireland,Zambia, Canada,Greece,Kenya,Kuwait andUnited Arab Emirates. He coachedCyprus andKenya national football teams. He also coached theNASL teamLos Angeles Wolves[4] and theCypriot teamAPOEL in 1971–72.
Wood married his wife Elizabeth in 1954. They had two daughters, but the couple divorced during the 1970s.[5] He died in July 2002 aged 71 inBexhill-on-Sea, having returned to England after the end of his coaching career overseas. His death was the result of a heart attack.[6]
Manchester United[7]