Raymond Byrom (2 January 1935 – 6 January 2020) 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 ...

who played as an

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

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 ...

Career

Born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Byrom started his career in the reserve side at hometown club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

before signing for

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...

side

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

in January 1956. He spent two years at Accrington and was part of the side that gained promotion to the Third Division in 1957, however he only made eleven games in all competitions. In December 1958, he signed for Fourth Division side

Bradford (Park Avenue) Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club, sometimes abbreviated as BPA AFC, is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in , at the eighth tier of the English football league ...

, following manager Walter Galbraith to the West Yorkshire club. He played in seventy league games for Bradford before sustaining a broken leg in a fixture in August 1960, which eventually finished his career.

Personal life

He settled in nearby Oswaldtwistle and following his retirement from professional football, Byrom started working for a motor supplies company in Blackburn before setting up his own business in 1972, ''Ray's Garage Supplies'', with his wife Agnes. His son, Alan, also played for Accrington Stanley in non-league, as did his grandson, Joel, who featured for them in League Two. He died on 6 January 2020 following a short spell in hospital.

Career statistics

References

1935 births 2020 deaths Footballers from Blackburn English men's footballers Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891) players English Football League players Men's association football outside forwards {{England-footy-forward-1930s-stub