Ronald Thomas Davies (21 September 1932 – December 2007) was a Welsh 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, rugby lea ...

who played as a full-back for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Playing career

Born in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

, he started his career as an amateur with

, before signing for

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

team

in October 1952. It was until the 1955–56 season that he made his debut for the first team, generally at full back although he was occasionally pressed into service as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. In his time with Cardiff he made a total of 32 appearances scoring three goals. In March 1958, Ted Bates signed him for £7,000 to replace the recently retired Len Wilkins. He soon proved to be a worthy successor and was an ever-present during the Saints' 1959–60 Third Division championship season. According to Holley & Chalk's "The Alphabet of the Saints" he was "unlucky not to gain international recognition during his spell with the club". He adjusted well to football in the Second Division and missed only one game in 1960–61, but the following season he had to vie for the No.2 shirt with Roy Patrick before losing out altogether to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

international Stuart Williams in September 1962. For the next two seasons he spent most of his time in the reserves. His final first team outing was on 4 January 1964 in an

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 ...

match at The Dell against

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 ...

. After a total of 185 appearances for the Saints, without ever scoring, he was transferred to

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

in August 1964. After three seasons at Aldershot he moved to lower league football with

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

. He managed the

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Snooker Centre before retiring to Wales in 1997. In his later life he suffered with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. His death was reported in December 2007.

Honours

Southampton * Third Division championship: 1959–60

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Ron 1932 births Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil 2007 deaths Welsh men's footballers English Football League players Cardiff City F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Wales men's under-23 international footballers Men's association football defenders