Ramon Wilson (17 December 1934 – 15 May 2018) 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 a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He was a member of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup.

Club career

Huddersfield Town

Wilson became an apprentice

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

man upon leaving school, but was spotted by a scout playing

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football at

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

. He began a combination of working on the tracks by night and training with Huddersfield by day, before being called up for

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. Quickly singled out as a strong and nippy left back, with good overlapping skills, by the then-Huddersfield Town manager

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool F.C., Liverpool. Shankly brought su ...

, Wilson signed professional forms with the club in 1952 after his two-year

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

posting, and made his debut against

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 ...

in October 1955. Two years later, Wilson was Huddersfield's established, first-choice left back. As well as the full England side, he was selected for various representative teams such the Football League and an 'FA XI'.

Everton

In 1964, Wilson joined Everton, by which time he had already played 30 times for England, and he remains Huddersfield's most-capped England international. However, a torn thigh muscle sustained in training meant that he missed most of his first season at Everton. He went on to win 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 ...

with Everton in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. Two years later, he was on the losing side, as Everton were beaten by

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

in the 1968 FA Cup final. Wilson's fortunes declined at Everton following another injury, and he was granted a free transfer in 1969, missing out on Everton's First Division title in 1970.

Later career

Wilson moved to

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

on a free in 1969. In 1970, he moved again to Bradford City. He served as caretaker manager at Bradford from September to November 1971, after the departure of Jimmy Wheeler. He took command for ten games, before being succeeded by Bryan Edwards.

International career

In April 1960, Wilson won his first cap for England in a 1–1 draw with

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Over the next 12 months, he became a fixture in the side. The FA selection committee put him in the squad for the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and Wilson played in all three group games and England's elimination in the quarter finals at the hands of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. After the World Cup, Wilson kept his England place under new manager

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager. As a player, he represented England national football team, the England national ...

. With Ramsey successfully snatching sole responsibility for picking the team from the FA came a firm feeling that Wilson was Ramsey's highest-rated left-back. Others, such as

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

's Gerry Byrne, were given the odd chance, but Wilson remained Ramsey's first choice. As hosts of the 1966 World Cup, England did not have to partake in a rigorous qualifying campaign, and Ramsey experimented with other left-backs as he shaped a squad for the tournament. Later the same year, Wilson was playing at Wembley on six more occasions, ever-present as Ramsey's England got through a World Cup group consisting of

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

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; a highly volatile quarter-final against a violent

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, and a semi-final against the skilful but enigmatic Portuguese, which was Wilson's 50th appearance for his country. Wilson was the oldest member of the England team in the World Cup final against

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. His early headed clearance fell to striker Helmut Haller, who gave the Germans the lead as a result, but after a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

from

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...

, England ran out 4–2 winners. Ramsey continued to select Wilson as England progressed through the qualification process for

UEFA Euro 1968 The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968. It ...

, ultimately going out in the semi-finals and finishing third overall. Wilson's 63rd and final England cap came in the third-place play-off against the USSR. At the time of his final cap, he held the record for the highest number of appearances for an outfield player without having scored a goal, a record since broken by

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit, former coach and player, and co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. As a player, Neville was a right-back and spent his entire career with Manches ...

and Ashley Cole. A serious knee injury suffered in the summer of 1968, coupled with the emergence of young

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

full-back Terry Cooper (who would be as impressive in the 1970 World Cup as Wilson was in 1966, despite England's elimination in the last eight), ended Wilson's England career.

After retirement from football

Wilson after his playing days ended built an

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

's business in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

. Wilson retired as an undertaker in 1997 to Halifax. In 2000, he and four of his 1966 teammates – Hunt, George Cohen,

Nobby Stiles Norbert Peter Stiles (18 May 194230 October 2020) was an English professional footballer. He played for England for five years, winning 28 caps and scoring one goal. He played every minute of England's victorious 1966 FIFA World Cup campaign. I ...

and Alan Ball – were appointed MBE for services to football after a high-profile campaign conducted by sections of the

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, which was surprised that their contribution to England's World Cup win had never been recognised by the British honours system. The other six, plus Ramsey, had already received various honours. In 2008, Wilson was inducted into the

English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and man ...

by a select committee of ex-footballers. He lived in Slaithwaite near Huddersfield with his wife Pat, who was three years his junior. They had two children. Ray and Pat Wilson were interviewed together in the book ''No More Worlds to Conquer'' by Chris Wright (2015). Wilson was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in 2004, along with World Cup-winning teammates Martin Peters in 2013 and Nobby Stiles in 2012. It is feared that the disease was brought on by their heading of the heavier footballs used in their playing days. On 30 July 2016, fifty years to the day since England lifted the World Cup, Wilson's former club Huddersfield Town released its new second-change kit for the 2016–17 season in his honour. It was released with the tag line "Legends Are Rarely Made", and featured a red shirt, in homage to the 1966 World Cup winning kit, and had Wilson's signature in white, just beneath the collar on the back, and below the white badge on the front. Ray's two sons and his wife released a statement alongside the release: On 15 May 2018, Wilson died in a care home in

from Alzheimer's disease after suffering from the condition for 14 years.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Source:

Honours

Everton *

: 1965–66; runner-up: 1967–68 England *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

References

External links

My Yorkshire – Ray Wilson talks about the 1966 victory

BBC radio interview with Ray Wilson, 1999
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Ray 1934 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Shirebrook English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Everton F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players English Football League players England men's international footballers 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players UEFA Euro 1968 players English Football League representative players English football managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers English Football League managers English Football Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Order of the British Empire British funeral directors Deaths from dementia in England Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in England Association football players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy 20th-century English sportsmen