Richard Ray (4 February 1876 – 28 December 1952) 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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. A

left-back 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 ...

, he played for

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

before starting his career in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

with Burslem Port Vale in 1894. He switched to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

a year later before joining

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

in 1896. He spent the next four years with City, helping the club to the Second Division title in 1898–99. He spent time with Macclesfield and Coventry City before spending one season each with Stockport County and Chesterfield. He signed with Leeds City in July 1905, and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed the club before he left the club in March 1908. In 1919, he became

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

's first-ever manager before being demoted to Arthur Fairclough's assistant the following year. He took charge at

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in 1923 and spent four seasons in charge before returning to Leeds in 1927. He led the club to

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out of the Second Division in 1927–28 and 1931–32, though he failed to turn Leeds into a stable First Division side. He took the

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at Bradford City in 1935 but left his post in February 1937.

Playing career

Ray was born in

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

and began his footballing career with local club Audley before joining

in 1893, with whom he won the Cheshire Senior Cup. He joined Burslem Port Vale in 1894. He was a solid performer for the club, however, failed to turn up for one match after misreading a train timetable, and was fined five

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

s for his trouble. In total, he played 29 of the club's 30 Second Division games in the 1894–95 season, and scored his first goal in the

on 2 February, in a 2–1 defeat to

at the Athletic Ground. He departed in the summer of 1895. He spent the 1895–96 season with

, but did not make a first-team appearance. He instead returned to Macclesfield, picking up a second Cheshire Senior Cup winners medal. Ray went on to play 30 Second Division games for Manchester City in the 1896–97 season and scored one goal in a 5–0 win at

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 ...

on 6 January. He made 22 appearances in the 1897–98 campaign and scored a goal in a 1–1 draw with

Manchester derby The Manchester derby refers to association football, football matches between Manchester City F.C., Manchester City and Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the City of Manchester Stadium in Bradford, ...

rivals

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial ...

at Bank Street on 16 October. He played 26 matches in the 1898–99 season and scored one goal in a 5–0 victory over

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

at Hyde Road on 17 December, as City won

as champions of the Second Division. He played only nine First Division games in the 1899–1900 season. He later played for

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

clubs Macclesfield and Coventry City, before making 34 Second Division appearances for Stockport County in the 1903–04 season. He left Edgeley Park after Stockport failed re-election to the Football League. He spent the

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

campaign with Chesterfield, playing 31 Second Division games. After Gilbert Gillies, his

Saltergate Saltergate, officially the Recreation Ground, was the historic home of Chesterfield Football Club, and was in use from 1871 until the club's relocation in July 2010, a 139-year history that made it one of the oldest football grounds in England ...

, was appointed as Leeds City's first manager in March 1905, Ray followed him to

Elland Road Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...

in July 1905. The club had just been elected to the Second Division and Ray played the club's first-ever Football League appearance in a 1–0 defeat to Bradford City at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...

in September 1905. After the death of Leeds player Soldier Wilson during a match against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in October 1906, he served as a

pallbearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

carrying Wilson's coffin to Leeds Station. He played 38 League and six

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 ...

games as

before leaving the club when the board declined to renew Gillies'

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

in March 1908.

Managerial career

Leeds United

Ray retired from playing in 1912 and then served in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was invited to become a member of the original committee that was elected to manage the new

following Leeds City's expulsion from the

in October 1919. He was appointed the club's first manager in the 1919–20

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

season, before Arthur Fairclough was appointed as his successor. Ray worked as Fairclough's assistant, before leaving

in June 1923.

Doncaster Rovers

He was appointed as

manager for the 1923–24 season. He led "Donny" to ninth in the Third Division North in the club's first season back in the Football League. Rovers struggled to finish 18th in 1924–25, just three places and six points above the re-election zone. He then took them to tenth and eighth-place finishes in 1925–26 and 1926–27. At Belle Vue, he signed four members of the Keetley family: Tom, Harry, Joe and Frank.

Return to Leeds

When Arthur Fairclough resigned following

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

into the Second Division at the end of 1926–27, the Leeds board recalled Ray as manager in July 1927. Described as "an outspoken character", he developed Bert Sproston, Billy Furness, Eric Stephenson, Arthur Hydes,

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member ...

, George Milburn and Jim Milburn into key players for the club. He also signed Charlie Keetley in July 1927, who would go on to become the club's most prolific goalscorer. He installed an all-

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 ...

international half-back line of

Willis Edwards Willis Edwards (28 April 1903 – 27 September 1988) was an English professional football player and manager. Early Edwards was born in the mining village of Newton, North East Derbyshire, not far from Chesterfield and Alfreton. Like many boys ...

, Ernest Hart and Wilf Copping. Ray led Leeds United to promotion in 1927–28 with a second-place finish, just two points behind champions

. United finished 13th in the First Division in 1928–29, before rising to fifth place in 1929–30. He then took the "Peacocks" to relegation in 21st place in 1930–31. He succeeded in taking the club to immediate promotion in 1931–32, as they finished in second position, just two points behind champions

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. He then took them to eighth spot in 1932–33 and ninth place in 1933–34. Yet with Wilf Copping sold 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 ...

, Leeds fell to 18th place in 1934–35. Ray resigned in March 1935, with Leeds struggling against relegation.

Bradford City

After Ray left

, he became Bradford City manager in April 1935. The "Bantams" finished 12th in the Second Division in 1935–36. However, he left his post at

in February 1937, with the club sliding towards relegation in 1936–37. The Football League appointed Ray as the first manager of a Football League representative team for a 2–2 draw with the Scottish League at Ibrox in February 1938. He later worked as chief

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

and later ran a garage business and billiard clubs.

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Source:

Managerial statistics

Honours

Macclesfield * Cheshire Senior Cup: 1894 & 1896 Manchester City *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

: 1898–99 Leeds United *

second-place promotion: 1927–28 & 1931–32

References

;General * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Dick Footballers from Newcastle-under-Lyme English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Macclesfield Town F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. players Leeds City F.C. players Midland Football League players English Football League players Royal Army Service Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War I English football managers Leeds United F.C. managers Doncaster Rovers F.C. managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers English Football League managers English football coaches English football scouts 1876 births 1952 deaths