Alfred Ridyard (5 March 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 lea ...

, active between 1930 and 1947. Ridyard was originally from Cudworth. He started his footballing career for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

as a

Centre Half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

between 1930 and 1931. He then moved to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

where he stayed until 1936. In 1937 he joined Queen's Park Rangers 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 Queen's Park Rangers 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, and also played for Queen's Park Rangers and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

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 sys ...

. 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. Ridyard died in 1981 in

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough ...

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*''Images of Sport Queen's Park Rangers football club''. Compiled by Tony Williamson. Tempus Publishing Ltd. 1908 births 1981 deaths English men's footballers 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 English football scouts English Football League players People from Cudworth, South Yorkshire Footballers from South Yorkshire 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-defender-1900s-stub