Ronnie Dodd (25 April 1911 − 1955) 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

centre forward 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 ...

with

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 ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

in the

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 ...

Career

Born in

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street () is a market town in County Durham, England. It is located around north of Durham and is close to Newcastle. The town holds markets on Saturdays. In 2021, the town had a population of 23,555. The town's history is ancient; ...

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 ...

, he played for his local pit team, Usworth Colliery before moving to play with Division 3 North side

in 1933.

Doncaster Rovers

Dodd scored on his Rovers debut in 4–0 home win against Playing against

on 9 September 1933. That season he was the club's top scorer with 24 goals in 34 League matches, including four against

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

, a ratio of one goal in 1.42 games. The following season Doncaster were League Champions, with Dodd scoring 11 in 24 games. His centre forward position was taken over by Reg Baines in December with Dodd moving to play at inside right later in the season. During the 1935–36 season in Division 2 he only played three times, and did not score. The next season he scored three times in seven games as Doncaster were relegated. He played in two international friendlies, first in December 1935 as Rovers entertained FC Austria from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. In October of the following year he played in Doncaster's first match abroad against a Dutch National XI in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. His overall League scoring ratio for Doncaster was one goal in 1.79 games. He made 70 appearances in total, scoring 39 goals.

Walsall

In 1937, he was signed by Third Division South club

New Brighton

In 1938, Dodd moved to Third Division North side New Brighton.

Wartime football

During the war players were allowed to make guest appearances for teams local to them to save on travel. Dodd turned out for his old club Doncaster as a guest in their first game in the East Midlands War League on 21 October 1939 in a 2–2 home draw with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in front of a 6,006 crowd.

Honours

Doncaster Rovers * Division 3 North: 1934−35

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Ronnie 1911 births 1955 deaths Footballers from Chester-le-Street English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Usworth Colliery A.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Walsall F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen