Donald Ratcliffe (13 November 1934 – 19 October 2014) 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 ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

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' ...

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

and Stoke City.

Career

Ratcliffe 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 joined Stoke City in May 1953 after being recommended to the club by a local grocer who had seen him playing football in the street. He made his debut at home to Bury on Christmas Day in 1954–55 and of his 11 appearances in that season six were against Bury. He became the prankster of Stoke's dressing room and was a hugely popular figure amongst the players. On the pitch Ratcliffe's natural position was left wing although he played in every position bar centre half causing Stoke manager Tony Waddington to boast that Ratcliffe was the first £100,000 footballer – as they could have sold him for £10,000 for each position. Under Waddington he was a regular and played in every match in 1962–63 as Stoke won the Second Division title. He fell out of favour with Waddington in the First Division and he was sold to

for £27,500 in September 1963. Ratcliffe's time at "Boro" was not that good as he brands manager Raich Carter as 'a waste of space' which ended with Ratcliffe joining

in February 1966 helping the club gain promotion in 1965–66 which was followed by an instant relegation. He moved on again to

and again gained promotion from the Fourth Division and he ended his career with non-league Northwich Victoria. Ratcliffe died on 19 October 2014 at the age of 79.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

; Stoke 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 ...

champions: 1962–63 ; Darlington *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

runner-up: 1965–66 ; Crewe Alexandra *

4th place promotion: 1967–68

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliffe, Don 1934 births 2014 deaths Footballers from Newcastle-under-Lyme Men's association football wingers English men's footballers Stoke City F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen