Ray Crawford (footballer) facts for kids
Crawford (left) and former team-mate Ted Phillips at Portman Road
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 July 1936 | ||
| Place of birth | Portsmouth, England | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1954–1957 | Portsmouth | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1957–1958 | Portsmouth | 19 | (9) |
| 1958–1963 | Ipswich Town | 197 | (143) |
| 1963–1965 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 57 | (39) |
| 1965–1966 | West Bromwich Albion | 14 | (6) |
| 1966–1969 | Ipswich Town | 123 | (61) |
| 1969 | Charlton Athletic | 21 | (7) |
| 1969–1970 | Kettering Town | ||
| 1970–1971 | Colchester United | 45 | (24) |
| 1971 | Durban City | 6 | (1) |
| Total | 482 | (290) | |
| National team | |||
| 1956 | Malaya | 1 | (0) |
| 1961–1962 | England | 2 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| Fareham Town | |||
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Raymond Crawford (born 13 July 1936) is a famous English former footballer. He played as a striker, scoring over 300 goals in his career. He also played for two different national teams!
Contents
Ray Crawford's Football Journey
Crawford started his football journey as a young player at his hometown club, Portsmouth. He played his first league game on 24 August 1957. After 19 games for Portsmouth, he joined Ipswich Town in August 1958.
Success at Ipswich Town
Ray was an amazing scorer. He helped Ipswich Town win two league titles in a row! First, they won the Second Division in the 1960–61 season. Then, they won the top league, the First Division, in 1961–62. In that amazing season, he was the top scorer in the First Division with 33 goals. He even became the first Ipswich Town player to play for the England team.
Moving to Other Clubs
In September 1963, Ray moved to Wolves. He scored 41 goals in 61 games there. In January 1965, he joined West Brom. He didn't stay long and soon returned to Ipswich in March 1965. He played three more seasons for Ipswich, bringing his total goals for the club to 259.
Later Career and Famous Goals
Ray joined Charlton in March 1969. Later, he played for Kettering Town. In June 1970, he signed for Colchester United. In his only season there, he scored 24 goals in 45 games. He scored two goals in a famous FA Cup match in 1971. Colchester United, a smaller team, beat the strong Leeds United 3–2! This was a huge upset in football.
After this, Crawford left English football. He went to play for Durban City in South Africa. He had an amazing record of 289 goals in 476 games in the English Football League. In South Africa, he won the cup and his team finished second in the league.
Life After Playing
After retiring from playing, Ray became a youth-team coach at Brighton. He also worked as a youth team manager and assistant manager at his old club, Portsmouth. He managed other non-league teams for a short time before retiring from football in 1984.
In 2007, Ray wrote a book about his life called "Curse of the Jungle Boy". He was known as 'Jungle Boy' because of his time serving in the army in Malaya. Fans even had a special chant for him!
Today, Ray still talks about football. He works as a commentator for Portsmouth matches on Express FM. He also sometimes talks about Ipswich Town games on Radio Suffolk. He is known for his exciting cheers and shouts! He also writes a weekly column about Colchester United.
Ray Crawford's International Career
Ray Crawford had a short but interesting international career. He played for two different countries!
He first played for the Malaya national team in 1956. He played in a match against Singapore on 1 April 1956, which Malaya won 4–2.
Later, he played for the England national team. He played against Northern Ireland on 22 November 1961. He also played against Austria on 4 April 1962, where he scored the first goal in a 3–1 win.
He also played for a special team called the Football League XI. This team was made up of the best players from the English Football League.
Ray Crawford's Achievements
Ray Crawford won many awards and honours during his football career.
Ipswich Town
- First Division: 1961–62
- Second Division: 1960–61, 1967–68
Individual Awards
- Football League Second Division top scorer: 1960–61
- Football League First Division top scorer: 1961–62
- Ipswich Town Hall of Fame: Joined in 2007
- Colchester United Player of the Year: 1970–71
- Colchester United Hall of Fame
Records
- Ipswich Town F.C. all-time top scorer: 218 goals.
- The first footballer to score hat-tricks (three goals in one game) in the Football League, League Cup, FA Cup and European Cup.
