Ronnie Rees
Some weeks ago Keith Ballantyne wrote to me regarding former
City player Ronnie Rees. Keith was reminded of the Welsh winger after the
Johnstone’s Paint Trophy debacle against Crewe. Keith remembers travelling to
Gresty Road in 1966 for the FA Cup tie: ‘City trailed until the last few
minutes until a Rees goal got them out of jail as I recall’.
You are correct Keith, Rees equalised in the 88th
minute after Crewe had led from the ninth minute, when a Peter Kane shot went
in off George Curtis’ face. Fourth Division Crewe’s chance of a giantkilling
act had gone & two days later the Sky Blues convincingly won the replay 4-1
with goals from Dave Clements, George Hudson (2) & Ronnie Farmer (a
penalty).
Keith recalls that Rees was City's only full international
for some years, that at some stage he left for West Brom and that he featured
in one if not two thrashings that we suffered at their hands. Like most of us
children of the 60s his memory is sketchy but he thought Rees played in a 6-1 Sky
Blues defeat.
Ronnie was only the fifth Coventry City player to win a full
Welsh cap when he made his debut at the age of 20 against Scotland in October
1964. He went on to win 21 caps whilst he was with the Sky Blues, scoring two
goals. He left City for West Brom in March 1968 after making 262 appearances
for the club & scoring 52 goals. He wasn’t City’s only international during
that time, Dave Clements made his debut for Northern Ireland in 1965 and also
won 21 caps between then and 1971. Also during 1964-65 City regularly put out a
side with two full internationals on the wings, Rees on the left and Northern
Ireland’s Willie Hunphries on the right.
After leaving City, Rees played only one full season at the
Hawthorns and appeared against the Sky Blues twice, scoring on both occasions.
In City’s 4-2 home win in August 1968 he scored one of the Baggies’ goals, then
repeated the feat in a 6-1 Baggies’ league win at the Hawthorns two months
later.
In 1969-70 he had joined Nottingham Forest & amazingly
repeated the scoring feat, netting in Forest’s 3-2 defeat at Highfield Road and
their 4-1 defeat to the Sky Blues at the City Ground. He did appear against
City twice the following season without finding the net. Ronnie won a further
18 full Welsh caps after leaving City, taking his total to 39. His club career
ended at Swansea City in 1975 and he went to work at the Ford factory in the
city but had to retire at the age of 51 after a stroke.
He still lives in Swansea with June, his Coventry-born wife
and although Ron is in poor health he likes to keep abreast of news from the
Sky Blues.
George Ling, a friend of many years standing through the
Coventry City London Supporters Club, posed an interesting question recently:
Did Noel Simpson ever break his leg playing for the club? George is confident
he was present at Highfield Road when he heard an almighty crack and Simpson
collapsed on the floor in front of the Main Stand at the Spion Kop end of the
ground.
I’m afraid I was unable to answer the question but Noel
played for the club between 1948-1957, in an era when broken legs took a
minimum of six months to recover from. Looking at Noel’s record I can find no
periods of that length when he was absent from the side and think George’s
memory is playing tricks on him. Perhaps an older supporter can throw some
light on the question.
George also asked which players I could remember breaking a
leg whilst playing for the club and a few immediately came to mind including
George Curtis at Nottingham Forest in 1967, Roy Barry (v Sheffield Wednesday
1970), Dave Busst (v Manchester United 1996), Bill Glazier (v Man City 1965),
Lloyd McGrath (v Ipswich (Simod Cup) 1988) & Jim Sanders (v Aldershot
1958). Do any readers remember others?
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