Ronald Leslie Baynham (10 June 1929 – 18 March 2024) 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

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 ...

, spending most of his career with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

. He played three times for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early life

Baynham was born in

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Warwickshire, it is located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutt ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, on 10 June 1929. He began playing football in his youth when he was put in goal by his brother for their local junior team.

Club career

He took up

goalkeeping In many team sports that involve scoring 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 intercepting o ...

during a spell in the

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 ...

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 ...

, and declined a trial with

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 ...

soon after, thinking himself not good enough. He joined the Bromford Amateurs upon his discharge from the army and was signed to

Worcester City Worcester City Football Club is an English Association football, football club based in Worcester, England, Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Southern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football. ...

by manager Jack Vinall in August 1950. In November 1951, he was transferred to

in exchange for £1,000, which helped save Worcester City from financial difficulties at the time. For four years he competed with

Bernard Streten Bernard Reginald Streten (14 January 1921 – 10 May 1994) was an English international footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the 1940s and 1950s, primarily with Luton Town. Streten joined Luton from Shrewsbury Town, and made his Luton Leag ...

for the number one shirt, but by 1955 Baynham was Luton's regular goalkeeper. He played for Luton in the

1959 FA Cup Final The 1959 FA Cup final was contested by Nottingham Forest and Luton Town at Wembley. Forest were playing in their second FA Cup final, while Luton were making their first final appearance in their history. Forest won 2–1 to win their second tit ...

in May 1959, which they lost 2–1 to

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. He described the loss as the "biggest disappointment" of his career. In September 1960 he suffered a

skull fracture A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of ...

during a game against Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United but resumed play. Baynham played for the club until 1964, when he retired aged 35; he returned in a reserve game in 1965 despite injury. He made 434 appearances in all competitions for Luton Town.

International career

He gained a total of three caps for England during his time at Luton, all in 1955: a 5–1 win against Danish national football team, Denmark at the Københavns Idrætspark in Copenhagen on 2 October 1955, a 3–0 win against Northern Ireland national football team, Northern Ireland and a 4–1 win against Spain national football team, Spain on 30 November 1955. No further caps followed as Baynham was overlooked in the goalkeeper position for Reg Matthews. In 2021, the three caps won by Baynham were auctioned by a private seller and bought by Registered Charity Hatters' Heritage thanks to donations from Luton Town directors with the intention of displaying them at Kenilworth Road and at a planned museum at Luton Town F.C.#New stadium, Power Court.

Later life and death

Baynham later worked as a painter and decorator and at Luton Airport, before retiring to the village of Silsoe, Bedfordshire. In 2020, he was voted by Luton Town supporters as their best ever goalkeeper. He died on 18 March 2024, at the age of 94. At the time of his death he was the oldest surviving England player.

Honours

Luton Town *FA Cup runner-up: 1958–59 FA Cup, 1958–59

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baynham, Ronald 1929 births 2024 deaths Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers English Football League players English Football League representative players Worcester City F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players 20th-century British Army personnel Southern Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen