Ronald Tudor Davies, born Holywell, Wales, May 25, 1942. Being blessed with a fair portion of determination and professionalism, Ron Davies accumulated a highly impressive 288 goals in 644 appearances during his striking career. After starting out with Chester City, the Welshman went on to play for a host of teams, including Luton Town, Norwich City, Southampton, Manchester United, Portsmouth and Millwall.
After a trial at Blackburn Rovers, Ron Davies signed professional terms with League Division Four club Chester City in July 1959, and debuted for the The Seals in a 5-0 Fourth Division defeat to Workington at Borough Park on the 26th of March 1960. Following 44 hits in 94 Division Four outings for the Sealand Road side, the prolific marksman was sold to League Division Two Luton Town for a transfer fee of around £12,000 at the start of the 1962-63 season. After hitting 21 goals during 32 Football League appearances for The Hatters, he decided to leave Kenilworth Road for Norwich City where he would clock up 58 Second Division goals in 113 matches for The Canaries before he was lured to newly promoted First Division outfit Southampton for an estimated transfer fee of £55,000 at the end of the 1965-66 campaign. He was given his First Division debut for The Saints by manager Ted Bates in a 1-1 draw to fellow promotion winners Manchester City at The Dell on the opening day of the 1966-67 season, and netted his first goal for Soton in a 3-2 triumph over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road the following Saturday. A born goal scorer, Davies recorded his first hat-trick for the club in a high-scoring 4-4 draw to Leicester City at The Dell on the 14th of January 1967, and hit another treble in a convincing 4-0 win at home to Burnley on the 8th of April the same year. He topped the First Division scoring charts in both 1967-68 and 1968-69, and he proved his match winning abilities when he bagged all four goals in a shock 4-1 First Division triumph over Wilf McGuinness´ Manchester United at Old Trafford on the 16th of August 1969.
On the third day of the season, Manchester United were one goal up after eight minutes of action as Brian Kidd headed Franics Burns´s free-kick down to Scotland international Willie Morgan who hammered the ball home from close range. But moments later, a perfect cross from speedy winger John Sydenham found Davies who beat United goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer with a well-placed header to level the score for Southampton. And the story repeated itself shortly afterwards when Sydenham sent another accurate cross to Davies who headed the ball into the back of the net from an acute angle to give The Saints the lead. After the interval, Sydenham was once again the provider as he crossed to the far post where Davies nodded the ball past Rimmer and into the goal two minutes before the hour mark. Soton defended well as Manchester United struggled to find a way through the massed ranks of the visiting backline and with only three minutes remaining of the encounter Davies finished a counter attack in clinical fashion to register his fourth goal of the afternoon. In the aftermath of the match, Sir Matt Busby described Davies as the best centre-forward in Europe and, at one point, Manchester United were said to be keen on bringing him to Old Trafford, but nothing ultimately materialised.
The uncompromising frontman continued to thrive under Bates, and went on to record an astonishing 134 goals during 240 League outings for the South Coasters until he left for Division Two team Portsmouth in April 1973. During his stay at Fratton Park, he managed to contribute 18 goals in 59 Second Division appearances for Pompey before he made a surprise move to Manchester United partly into the 1974-75 campaign. Davies made his debut for United when he entered the field as a second-half substitute for versatile defender Brian Greenhoff in a narrow 3-2 Second Division triumph against fellow promotion chasers Sunderland at Old Trafford on the 30th of November 1974, and the seasoned veteran campaigner proceeded to play a total of 10 first-team games for the club before he was shipped out on loan to Division Three side Millwall, for whom he appeared in three Third Division matches. After leaving Manchester United in November 1975, he signed with North American Soccer League club Los Angeles Aztecs where he linked up with former Old Trafford star George Best. There followed moves to Tulsa Roughnecks, and then Seattle Sounders, before he finally called it a day in 1979.
A lavishly gifted striker with a dynamic burst of speed, Davies was handed his full debut for his native Wales by Trevor Morris in an entertaining 3-2 British Home Championship defeat against Northern Ireland at Vetch Field in Swansea on the 15th of April 1964, netting one of the goals for The Dragons. He carried on scoring regularly for his country and registered a consolation goal in a narrow 2-1 British Home Championship loss against Sir Alf Ramsey´s England in front of a crowd of 72,000 people at Wembley on the 9th of May 1969. The Welshmen went into the lead 18 minutes into the first half when a cross by Leicester City defender Peter Rodrigues found its way to Davies who beat Everton goalkeeper Gordon West with a trademark header. West Bromwich Albion´s Jeff Astle, who was making his debut for England, had the ball in the net four minutes later, but referee John Adair had already blown for a penalty-kick after Rodrigues had handled inside the18-yard area. Manchester City marksman Francis Lee missed the subsequent spot-kick, but The Three Lions equalised anyway as World Cup winner Bobby Charlton managed to find the back of the net 13 minutes into the second half. Then, with less than 20 minutes left of normal time, a headed attempt from Astle was cleared off the line before the ball fell straight to Lee who scored from close range to give England the win against the Welsh. As a Wales player, Davies amassed nine goals in 29 senior appearances in an international career which spanned over 10 years, with his last match coming in a 2–0 British Home Championship defeat against England at Ninian Park in Cardiff on the 11th of May 1974. Ron Davies Playing Career: Chester City, Luton Town, Norwich City, Southampton, Portsmouth, Manchester United, Millwall, Los Angeles Aztecs, Tulsa Roughnecks, Seattle Sounders.