Alf Ridyard (1908 – 1981) was an English 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 ...

, active between 1930 and 1947. Ridyard was originally from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. He started his footballing career for Barnsley as a

Centre Half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

(#5) between 1930 and 1931. He then moved to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

where he stayed until 1936. In 1937 he joined

Queen's Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football, football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home ...

where he rose to become team captain. In the 1939–1940 season he played for Tunbridge Wells Rangers F.C. probably as a guest player. He remained with

until ten years later when he finished his playing career in 1947. In World War II he worked with the Metropolitan Police, 6 months

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

, and also played for Queen's Park Rangers and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in wartime games. In the twilight of his playing career in 1947 Ridyard made a dramatic comeback at the age of 40 and captained Rangers in the vital last games to win promotion to Division 2, which at the time was the equivalent to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. He continued to be involved with the club for many years after he stopped playing including roles as Chief Scout and Assistant Manager to Jack Taylor.

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*''Images of Sport Queen's Park Rangers football club''. Compiled by Tony Williamson. Tempus Publishing Ltd. English men's footballers 1908 births 1981 deaths Queens Park Rangers F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Metropolitan Police officers Tunbridge Wells F.C. players West Ham United F.C. wartime guest players Barnsley F.C. players Men's association football central defenders Footballers from Yorkshire {{England-footy-defender-1900s-stub