Ledger Ritson (28 April 1921 – March 1977) 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 ...

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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profes ...

as a

left back 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 s ...

. After retiring from football, he jointly coached and advised the Leyton Orient reserve and 'A' teams with

Syd Hobbins Sydney George Hobbins (6 May 1916 – 16 March 1984) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Millwall, Leyton Orient and Charlton Athletic as a goalkeeper. After retiring from football, he jointly coached a ...

Personal life

Ritson served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. His football career was ended by a broken right leg, during a training run at

Leyton Stadium Leyton Football Club was an English association football club based in Leyton, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The club withdrew from the Isthmian League Division One North in January 2011 due to severe financial difficulties, and disba ...

in December 1949, while rehabilitating without his doctor's knowledge after having suffered a

compound fracture A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

to the same leg three months earlier. Gangrene set in and the leg was amputated in January 1950.

References

English Football League players English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Gateshead English amputees 1921 births British Army personnel of World War II Hitchin Town F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. non-playing staff 1977 deaths Association football players with limb difference English disabled sportspeople {{England-footy-defender-1910s-stub