Ray Crawford (footballer)

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This article is about the footballer. For the racecar driver, see Ray Crawford.

Raymond Crawford (born Portsmouth 13 July 1936) is a former English international footballer.

Starting out at Portsmouth, Ray Crawford joined Ipswich Town in 1958. A prolific striker, he helped Ipswich to win back-to-back titles, the Second Division in the 1959/1960 season and the First Division in the 1960/1961 season.

He was sold to Wolves in 1963 where he scored 39 goals in 57 appearances, before moving to West Brom for a season. Rejoining Ipswich in 1965, he played another three seasons before joining Charlton in 1968.

He stayed for a single season before moving to non-league Kettering Town on a free transfer.

Crawford signed for Colchester United from non-league Kettering Town in 1970 for £3,000 and in his only season scored 24 goals from 45 appearances. Most notably, he scored two goals for Colchester United in a giant-killing 3-2 victory against Leeds United in the fifth round of the FA Cup in 1971.

His scoring rate was exceptional, scoring 289 career goals in 476 football league appearances, including:
- Portsmouth (1954-1958) 19 appearances 9 goals
- Ipswich Town (1958-1963) 197 appearances 143 goals
- Wolverhampton Wanderers (1963-1965) 57 appearances 39 goals
- West Bromwich Albion (1965-1966) 14 appearances 6 goals
- Ipswich Town (1965-1969) 123 appearances 61 goals
- Charlton Athletic (1969-1970) 21 appearances 7 goals
- Colchester United (1970-1971) 45 appearances 24 goals

His international career was surprisingly brief - only two caps against Northern Ireland in 1961 and Austria in 1962, with his solitary international goal scored in the latter match. He also represented the Football League.