Patrick Christopher Ratcliffe (31 December 1919 – March 1986) was an Irish

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 as a full back. His career as a professional started later than most because of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was injured in combat while serving for the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

and spent two years in a

Prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

before returning home."Paddy Ratcliffe"
Greens on Screen. Retrieved 25 June 2010. After hostilities had ceased, he briefly played for Bohemians in his homeland before moving to England to join

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

, and moved to

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 ...

less than one year later. Ratcliffe made two league appearances in the 1946–47 season before joining Plymouth Argyle, where he would eventually finish his career. A cultured, attacking full back, who was also a capable

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

taker, he made 246 appearances in all competitions for the Pilgrims between 1947 and 1955, scoring ten goals, before retiring from the professional game at the age of 35. After leaving English football Paddy and his family decided to move to the United States. Paddy had married a Dublin woman named Olive Privett in 1946 and they set off for a new life in Los Angeles in 1957. They moved to the Lawndale area of Los Angeles with their four children (two girls and two boys) and Paddy began a career in the printing business, becoming print foreman of Palos Verdes newspapers and occasionally penning articles in its pages about football. Paddy also continued playing for a Los Angeles Danish side well after his 40th birthday, only hanging up his boots in 1962. He was also involved in coaching young American talent in football."A Bohemian Sporting Life"
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliffe, Paddy 1919 births League of Ireland players Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Men's association football fullbacks Bohemian F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players English Football League players 1986 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin 20th-century Irish sportsmen