Ray Middleton (6 September 1919 – 1977) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

and manager, and brother of Matt Middleton. Born in Boldon Colliery Middleton began his career at

North Shields North Shields ( ) is a town in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. The population of North Shields at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom cens ...

where he attracted the attentions of Chesterfield who signed him for £50.Ray Middleton
/ref> He established himself as first choice keeper but saw his career interrupted by

World War II 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 ...

, remaining in the area to work as a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...

during the conflict. Highly rated as a player despite not playing top-flight football, he appeared four times for England B and, unusually given their

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

status, played alongside clubmate

Stanley Milburn Stanley Milburn (27 October 1926 – 30 July 2010) was an English football full back. Part of a famous footballing dynasty, he was brother of John ('Jack') Milburn b 1908 (Leeds United and Bradford City Bradford City Association Footba ...

in one fixture. Off the pitch Middleton ran a

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

shop in Old Whittington and became involved in local Labour Party politics, even becoming the only active

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

player to serve as a Justice of the Peace. The Spireites' relegation in 1951 saw him leave the club to move to top-flight

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, where he made 115 appearances. Released by the club in 1954 he moved to non-league

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...

as a player-manager, even leading the club to a famous 6–1 win over Derby in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. He attracted the attention of Hartlepools United who appointed him as their manager in 1957. He began promisingly with a 2–1 win over

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 ...

although his record proved mediocre and after a 5–1 defeat at

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in October 1959 he left the club.Managerial record
/ref> Middleton returned to Boston, initially for a spell as manager before taking up the post of secretary. He held this position until his death in 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Ray 1919 births 1977 deaths English men's footballers North Shields F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Boston United F.C. players English Football League players England men's B international footballers English football managers Boston United F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers English Football League managers British businesspeople in retailing English legal professionals English miners Labour Party (UK) people People from Old Whittington Footballers from Derbyshire People from The Boldons Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside Footballers from Tyne and Wear Men's association football goalkeepers British sportsperson-politicians 20th-century English sportsmen