Ronnie Radford - A Tribute To A Great Legend

RONNIE RADFORD – A TRIBUTE TO A TRUE LEGEND, A GREAT FOOTBALLER AND A LOVELY MAN

 

Club Historian Ron Parrott has compiled this tribute to Ronnie Radford, a Hereford United legend who sadly passed away this week:-

As a 21-year-old and fanatical Hereford United supporter, I used to love watching the arrival of new players and the summer of 1971 was no different. We witnessed the arrival of Colin Addison, Ivan Hollett, David Icke, Ken Mallender and a shy, unassuming lad from Newport County by the name of Ron Radford. I say lad but at the age of 28, he was anything but, however, his demeanour was such that he still looked fresh-faced  and his attitude towards the game, the fans and the club itself was outstanding. Little did Ronnie know that this move would change his life and that of the club's, forever.

Ronnie, or Ron as he preferred to be known, played much of his time at Edgar Street as a defender, either at full-back or at left-half and he was not known as a prolific goalscorer, only scoring 11 times in 137 appearances. However, as the cup run developed, so did Ron and his value to the side should not be underestimated. He tigerishly fought for every 50/50 ball and nobody liked to tackle him in training and this was no better illustrated than in the build-up to "the goal". He fought for a loose ball with Kevin Tudor of Newcastle United, hit him hard but fairly and left him on the deck, played a one-two with Brian Owen and the rest as they say, is history.

Even in the aftermath of the game and the heroics of the Fourth Round against West Ham, still no one realised the significance of the goal. Fans were chuffed when it was nominated as a potential winner of the BBC "Goal of the month" award for January 1972 and over the moon when it won the competition. It then started to be analysed in much more depth and it was probably at this time that people slowly started to realise just what a technically perfect strike it was. Word spread and football fans worldwide were demanding to see Radford's "wonder strike" from 40, 50 or even 60 yards out.

To say that it put Hereford United on the footballing map is a massive understatement and such was the impact of this goal worldwide that it could even be said that "never before has so much been owed by so many to so few!" The summer of 1972 arrived and Hereford United were elected into the Football League on the back of that cup run and not only that but Ronnie's goal was in the running for BBC's "Goal of the Season".  Amidst all this excitement, the calmest man around was Ron and he truly couldn't understand what all the fuss was about! The goal was duly elected as the best of the season, although there were some other superb goals in contention and his and the club's fame spread still further. In later times, it came to be voted the best FA Cup goal ever scored and also did very well in a "goal of the century" competition.

If I take three holiday destinations at random, I can personally testify to this fame. I've been walking on beaches with my wife, carrying or wearing my Hereford United beach towel in places like Venezuela, Zanzibar and the Maldives, engaging the locals in conversation on the beach, as one does, they see the beach towel and in all three locations, the locals exclaimed "Ah, Hereford United - Ronnie Radford!" A humbling experience indeed and testimony to Ronnie's strike. Twelve months before, no one would have even heard of Hereford United!

I met Ronnie on many occasions, the last of which was for the Courtyard Theatre's production of "The Goal" when nearly all of the surviving members of the giantkilling team returned to Hereford for the umpteenth time and made just as welcome as ever. I helped to supply a lot of the background info for the production and as a result, I was asked to sit with the players on the stage after the show to answer any questions from the audience. Even after all the publicity over the years, Ronnie could still not really understand all the fuss and couldn't believe that a play could possibly be written about one of his goals.

I could write much more about Ronnie but I will end with a memory that will live with me for the rest of my life. I've replayed the goal hundreds of times and my reactions are always the same. It starts with a tingling in my spine, followed by the hairs on the back of my neck rising, followed by a cold shiver throughout my body and ending every time with tears rolling down my cheeks! Thanks for the memories Ron, rest in peace. Our thoughts at this sad time lie with his wife, family and friends.

For those of you interested in more factual information about Ronnie, Ron Parrott has prepared the following pen-pic covering his total career:-

Appearances: 137 (135+2 sub.) Goals: 11

Seasons played: 1995/96

Born South Elmshall, Wakefield 12th July 1943

A former Yorkshire county youth player, Ron started his career aged 15 as an amateur with Sheffield Wednesday and spent two seasons under Harry Catterick before signing as a professional for Leeds United in October 1961 under Don Revie. Unable to break into the first team, Ron decided to make a clean break and despite offers from Chesterfield and York City, he travelled south to join Cheltenham Town to play part-time and start an apprenticeship as a carpenter. A rangy, hard-running player with a fierce shot in either foot, Ron spent three seasons at Whaddon Road before he spent 1965/66 with Rugby Town as an inside-forward but he returned to Cheltenham the following season and was voted player-of-the-year in his first season back. During his two spells at Whaddon Road, Ron made 279 league Southern League & Cup appearances and scored 19 goals. Following the Robins' relegation from the Southern League Premier Division in 1969, Ron was among several of the better players to leave the Club and Newport County paid a £1,500 fee to take him back into the Football League.

He made 66 League appearances for County and scored seven goals over two seasons before John Charles paid a similar fee  to bring him to Hereford United in August 1971. Little did he know that this move was destined to change his life for ever! 1971/72 was a fantastic season for Ronnie and his equalising goal against Newcastle United in the Third Round replay of the FA Cup will be remembered as the greatest ever goal in the FA Cup. The season culminated with promotion to the Football League and Ron decided to give it a go full-time. In two Football League seasons, including a debut promotion in 1971/72, he played 61 League games and scored six more times before accepting an appointment as a full-time player-manager of Worcester City in the summer of 1974.

His brief was to win promotion to the Southern League Premier but City suffered a financial crisis and some of his best players had to be offloaded, forcing Ronnie to resign in December 1974. After a short spell with Bath City and a brief period with Forest Green Rovers, Ron retired due to an Achilles injury in 1977 and returned to his home town of Wakefield, where he built his own house. His last taste of football was a spell of coaching at Ossett Albion, whilst he continued his career as a carpenter. Out of football perhaps but still never out of the limelight with his spectacular goal against Newcastle being screened time and time again every time that the FA Cup comes round again.