Raymond Henry "Ray" Baartz (born 6 March 1947) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

48 times between 1967 and 1974, scoring 18 goals, making him the nation's eighth-highest goal scorer of all time. Baartz was born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and spent his early years playing for Adamstown. At 17 he joined

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and after 6 months signed on a two-year contract. In 1966 he returned to Australia and transferred to Sydney Hakoah for a then Australian record of £5600. He played 236 club matches scoring 211 goals. Baartz was selected in the Australian squad to play in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

finals in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

but his career was prematurely ended after he was felled by a blow from Uruguay's

Luis Garisto Luis Garisto Pan (3 December 1945 – 21 November 2017) was a Uruguayan football (soccer) coach who had a professional career as both player and head coach. Luis Garisto began his sporting career in 1962, in his native Uruguay, playing for tea ...

(known as ''el Loco'' (in English ''crazy'')) in a friendly international fixture at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

. The blow to his throat had damaged his carotid artery. Ray currently still lives in Newcastle.

Awards and recognition

Baartz was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1985. Baartz Terrace in the Sydney suburb of Glenwood is named for him. On 5 December 2000, Baartz was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, off ...

for services to soccer. On 12 July 2012, Baartz was named in the Greatest ever Australian team.

References

External links

Oz Football profile
* * * 1947 births Living people Australian men's soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australia men's international soccer players Hakoah Sydney City East FC players Soccer players from Newcastle, New South Wales Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Manchester United F.C. players Men's association football forwards 20th-century Australian sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England {{Australia-footy-forward-stub