Ronald Spence (7 January 1927 – 24 April 1996) was an English

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

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Career

Born in

Spennymoor Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is south of the River Wear and is south of Durham. The civil parish includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers Green and Tudhoe. In 2011 the paris ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, Spence played for Tudhoe Colliery and

Rossington Colliery Rossington is a civil parish and former mining village in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England and is surrounded by countryside and the market towns of Bawtry and Tickhill. Geography Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshir ...

before signing for

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

in March 1948. He was a part of the team which played 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 ...

semi-final in 1955. He joined

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

side

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

in June 1960, playing 42 appearances and scoring 10 goals in all competitions before playing for Goole Town. He returned to York as part-time trainer in July 1964, before taking the position full-time in November 1966. He then worked as physiotherapist and juniors' coach at the club from August 1972 to September 1975. Spence died in

Doncaster Royal Infirmary Doncaster Royal Infirmary is a district general hospital of 800 beds, located in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It is managed by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History Early history Doncaster Royal Infirm ...

at the age of 69 on 24 April 1996.

References

1927 births Footballers from Spennymoor 1996 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Rossington Main F.C. players York City F.C. players Scarborough F.C. players Goole Town F.C. players English Football League players York City F.C. non-playing staff 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-midfielder-1920s-stub