| Jabba's Comments |
Dick Ray served both Leeds City and Leeds United in
his footballing career. He joined Leeds City as a left back in their
first season in the League and captained the side before leaving in
1908. After World War I, he became a member of the committee formed to
bring league football back to Leeds after the expulsion of Leeds
City. In Leeds United's first season, Dick Ray managed the side in the
Midlands League but handed over the reins to Arthur Fairclough and
worked as his assistant when Leeds United were elected to the Football
League in 1920.
Ray became a manager in his own right at Doncaster Rovers in
Division 3 North, where he enjoyed moderate success. When Fairclough
resigned after Leeds had been relegated to Division 2 in 1927, Dick
Ray returned to Elland Road as manager/secretary. In his first season,
he won promotion back to the top flight, and managed to get the team
up to 5th place. The following season they were relegated, but once again
came straight back up, and continued to make the best of the limited
resources available to him.
His successes weren't unnoticed outside of Leeds, and he was chosen as
manager of the first Football League XI for a game against a Scottish League
XI at Ibrox in 1934. Ray resigned from Elland Road in March 1935 and went on
to manage Bradford City until 1938, and worked as chief scout for Millwall
from 1939, but with the onset of war he retired from football and went
into business.
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