| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ronald Tudor Davies | ||
| Date of birth | 25 May 1942 | ||
| Place of birth | Holywell, Flintshire, Wales | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1959–1962 | Chester City | 94 | (44) |
| 1962–1963 | Luton Town | 32 | (21) |
| 1963–1965 | Norwich City | 113 | (58) |
| 1966–1972 | Southampton | 240 | (134) |
| 1973–1974 | Portsmouth | 59 | (18) |
| 1974–1975 | Manchester United | 8 | (0) |
| 1975 | → Millwall (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1964–1974 | Wales | 29 | (9) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ronald Tudor "Ron" Davies (born 25 May 1942) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre forward. He spent most of his career with Southampton in the Football League First Division, and also for the Welsh national team.
Davies was born in Holywell, Flintshire, Wales. He was known as a header of the ball and was the top goal scorer in Division 1 for two seasons (1966–1968). In his first season at Southampton, he scored 12 goals in 10 consecutive league games.
His younger brother Paul was an Arsenal youth player who went on to play for Charlton Athletic.
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After an unsuccessful trial with Blackburn Rovers, Davies signed his first professional contract in July 1959 with Chester City where he was made to hurdle wearing army boots – training, he later claimed, which gave him his strength when jumping for crosses.
He made his debut in a 5-0 defeat to Workington in March 1960 and the following two seasons would see the club finish bottom of the Football League. However, Davies had a strong strike rate and was a regular in the team. Following a rare spell out of favour that saw him placed on the transfer list, his reply was to score four goals in a 6-1 win against Southport in October 1962. Port Vale manager Norman Low offered £7,000 plus Terry Miles for Davies, but the deal fell through after the Vale directors vetoed the move;[1] and so instead a £12,000 move to Luton Town followed soon after, and he moved on again to Norwich City in September 1963 for a fee of £35,000.
He averaged more than a goal every other game for the Norwich City starting with a goal in each of his first four matches for the club. He went on to score 30 goals that season in a side who finished 17th in the English Football League, Division Two. In the next two seasons he scored 15 and 21 before being sold to Southampton for £55,000.
He made his international debut at the age of 21 for Wales on 15 April 1964 in a 3-2 defeat against Northern Ireland.
Ted Bates had spent a then club record £55,000 for Davies as the club prepared to face their inaugural season in the top division. Already an established Welsh international, Davies scored 12 goals in 10 consecutive League games and ended that season having scored 37 goals in 41 games, more than any other player in the division. The club retained their place in the division. The first of his 134 League goals for Southampton was on 27 August 1966 at Bloomfield Road as his club beat hosts Blackpool 3–2.[2] In front of a crowd of 15,258, he lobbed Tony Waiters. "The 'keeper came off his line — way out of the box. I was 35 yards out and I couldn't believe it. I just knocked it over his head."[2]
He was joint top goal-scorer in the division in the following season, 1967–68, along with George Best. On 16 August 1969 he scored four goals, all headed, in a match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Matt Busby said that Davies had no peer in Europe.
By the 1970s many clubs had learned how to cope with Davies' aerial power and he was often neutralised by defenders playing the man rather than the ball. A series of injuries reduced his effectiveness and his scoring was reduced. By 1973 he was unable to retain a regular place in the first team.
He left Southampton for Portsmouth in April 1973, and scored 18 goals for them in 59 games. Manchester United then signed him in November 1974 but his playing opportunities were limited. He left for Millwall a year later after making eight appearances for United, all of them from the substitute's bench. He appeared three times for Millwall.
His final international appearance was on 11 May 1974 in a 2-0 defeat against England, bringing his total number of caps to 29, with 9 goals scored.
Davies returned to Southampton to live and for a while continued to play for local sides but then moved to Los Angeles where he coached at local schools and latterly in Florida. He is now living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he is working on a construction site, living in a motor-home.
In October 2007 an appeal fund was established to raise money to help fund a hip replacement. This appeal reached its initial target in mid-November. The appeal was established by Southampton fans and, while the bulk of the monies raised came from fans of Southampton, there were also contributions from fans of his former clubs Norwich City and Chester City.[3] An anonymous Southampton fan has also paid for some dental work.[4]
Davies' caricatures of his team-mates often featured in the local press.