Ronald William Starling (11 October 1909 – 17 December 1991) was an English

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 ...

whose career lasted from 1926 to 1946. Starling was an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

who made 413 appearances in all competitions, never a high scoring inside forward he was a player who created chances for other players, notching a modest 65 goals throughout his career. His ball carrying ability earned him the nickname of "The Man with the Fluttering Feet".

Playing career

Born in

Pelaw Pelaw () is a residential area in Gateshead, located around from Newcastle upon Tyne, from Sunderland and from Durham. The United Kingdom 2011 census data for the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council ward of ''Heworth and Pelaw'' recorded ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, Ronnie Starling represented Durham County schools as a youth and began working in the coal mines in the north-east at the age of 14, firstly at Usworth colliery and then Washington Colliery. He was spotted by

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

manager

Billy McCracken William Robert McCracken (29 January 1883 – 20 January 1979) was an Irish footballer who played as a defender. He is famous for inventing the offside trap. He was a cousin of Robert McCracken who also had a career as a professional football ...

while playing amateur football for Washington Colliery and signed for the Yorkshire club in October 1926 at the age of 17.

Hull City

Starling initially worked in the club offices whilst playing for the club as an amateur. He was part of the side which reached 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 ...

semi-final in the 1929–30 season, losing to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

after a replay. Despite their good cup form that season the team struggled in Division Two and were heading for relegation when soon after the semi-final he returned to his native North-East with a £3,750 move to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

in May 1930.

Newcastle United

Starling was a regular in the Newcastle team in his first season at

St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...

(1930–31) making 38 appearances however the following campaign he only made 15 appearances losing his place in the side before Christmas to new signing Harry McMenemy. He took no part all in Newcastle's

run which saw the team beat

2–1 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

and on 25 June 1932 he signed for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in a £3,250 deal.

Sheffield Wednesday

Starling was signed by

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...

but within a year Billy Walker was in charge. Walker made Starling club captain and played him in a central midfield role prompting him to produce the best football of his career. He played for ''The Owls'' for four-and-a-half years, as Wednesday finished third in Division One two seasons running and captained their 1935 FA Cup-winning team. He also played as Wednesday won the

1935 FA Charity Shield The 1935 FA Charity Shield was the 22nd FA Charity Shield, a football match between the winners of the previous season's First Division and FA Cup competitions. The match was contested by league champions Arsenal and FA Cup winners Sheffield Wedne ...

. In April 1933, he won his first

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

, playing as inside right in the 2–1 defeat by

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. As Wednesday struggled near the bottom of Division One, Starling joined

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

for £6,900 on 6 January 1937, just a day after they had rejected a huge bid for

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

from Arsenal."''Sheffield Wednesday, Illustrating The Greats''", Michael Liversidge & Gary Mackender, Page 8 Gives biographical information. In total he played 176 league matches for Wednesday scoring 31 goals, and appeared in 17 FA Cup matches without scoring.

Aston Villa

Starling was a prominent member of Villa's 1937–38 side which won promotion to Division One. During his time with Villa he made his second England appearance on 17 April 1937, also against Scotland, as inside left in the 3–1 defeat. He remained on the books at Villa Park throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

winning the

Football League North The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues sta ...

in 1944, although he did make guest appearances for

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

and Sheffield Wednesday during the conflict. After the war he made single appearances in the League and FA Cup in 1946 before losing his place in the team and finally retiring in 1948, aged 39.

Retirement

After retiring as a player, he spent time as a coach with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

before retiring from football altogether, becoming a

newsagent A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

, with a shop on Middlewood Road near to Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough ground.''"The Wednesday Boys"'', Jason Dickinson & John Brodie, Page 284 Gives biographical information. Sheffield Wednesday won the 1991 Football League Cup Final, Wednesday's first trophy since Ronnie Starling lifted the FA Cup in 1935. Starling was photographed for the ''

Sheffield Star ''The Star'', often known as the ''Sheffield Star'', is a daily newspaper published in Sheffield, England, from Monday to Saturday each week. Originally a broadsheet, the newspaper became a tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid in 1993. ''The Sta ...

'' newspaper with the trophy and Wednesday players shortly before his death on 17 December 1991, aged 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starling, Ronnie 1909 births English men's footballers England men's international footballers People from Pelaw Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead Footballers from Tyne and Wear Hull City A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players 1991 deaths Men's association football forwards English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen