Don Ratcliffe

Donald Ratcliffe (13 November 1934 – 19 October 2014) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Crewe Alexandra, Darlington, Middlesbrough and Stoke City.[1][3]

Don Ratcliffe

Personal information
Full name	Donald Ratcliffe[1]
Date of birth	13 November 1934[1]
Place of birth	Newcastle-under-Lyme, England[1]
Date of death	19 October 2014 (aged 79)[2]
Position(s)	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1954–1963	Stoke City	238	(16)
1963–1966	Middlesbrough	65	(3)
1965–1967	Darlington	86	(12)
1967–1969	Crewe Alexandra	48	(2)
–	Northwich Victoria
Total		436	(33)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Ratcliffe was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme and joined Stoke City in May 1953 after being recommended to the club by a local grocer who had seen him playing football in the street.[3] He made his debut at home to Bury on Christmas Day in 1954–55 and of his 11 appearances in that season six were against Bury.[3] He became the prankster of Stoke's dressing room and was a hugely popular figure amongst the players. On the pitch Ratcliffe's natural position was left wing although he played in every position bar centre half causing Stoke manager Tony Waddington to boast that Ratcliffe was the first £100,000 footballer – as they could have sold him for £10,000 for each position.[3] Under Waddington he was a regular and played in every match in 1962–63 as Stoke won the Second Division title.[3]

He fell out of favour with Waddington in the First Division and he was sold to Middlesbrough for £27,500 in September 1963.[3] Ratcliffe's time at "Boro" was not that good as he brands manager Raich Carter as 'a waste of space' which ended with Ratcliffe joining Darlington in February 1966 helping the club gain promotion in 1965–66 which was followed by an instant relegation.[3] He moved on again to Crewe Alexandra and again gained promotion from the Fourth Division and he ended his career with non-league Northwich Victoria.[3] Ratcliffe died on 19 October 2014 at the age of 79.[2]

Career statistics

Source:[4]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	1954–55	Second Division	6	0	5	2	–		11	2
	1955–56	Second Division	8	0	0	0	–		8	0
	1956–57	Second Division	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
	1957–58	Second Division	31	3	2	0	–		33	3
	1958–59	Second Division	31	1	0	0	–		31	1
	1959–60	Second Division	31	1	0	0	–		31	1
	1960–61	Second Division	41	4	6	1	1	0	48	5
	1961–62	Second Division	39	2	3	0	1	0	43	2
	1962–63	Second Division	42	5	1	0	2	0	45	5
	1963–64	First Division	8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
	Total		238	16	17	3	5	0	260	19
Middlesbrough	1963–64	Second Division	25	2	1	0	0	0	26	2
	1964–65	Second Division	26	0	4	0	0	0	30	0
	1965–66	Second Division	14	1	1	0	0	0	15	1
	Total		65	3	6	0	0	0	71	3
Darlington	1965–66	Fourth Division	21	5	0	0	0	0	21	5
	1966–67	Third Division	42	4	4	1	3	2	49	7
	1967–68	Fourth Division	23	3	1	1	5	2	29	6
	Total		86	12	5	1	8	4	99	16
Crewe Alexandra	1967–68	Fourth Division	20	2	0	0	0	0	20	2
	1968–69	Third Division	27	0	3	0	2	0	32	0
	Total		47	2	3	0	2	0	52	2
Career Total			436	33	31	4	15	4	482	41

Honours

Stoke City

• Football League Second Division champions: 1962–63

Darlington

• Football League Fourth Division runner-up: 1965–66

Crewe Alexandra

• Football League Fourth Division 4th place promotion: 1967–68

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. "Don Ratcliffe". Stoke City F.C. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
3. Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287554.
4. Don Ratcliffe at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Don Ratcliffe at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database