Tommy Ring
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Thomas Ring | ||
| Date of birth | 8 August 1930 | ||
| Place of birth | Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 5 October 1997 (aged 67) | ||
| Playing position | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1948–1949 | Ashfield | ||
| 1949–1960 | Clyde | 280 | (124) |
| 1960–1961 | Everton | 27 | (6) |
| 1961–1963 | Barnsley | 21 | (1) |
| 1963 | Aberdeen | 2 | (0) |
| 1963–1964 | Fraserburgh | ||
| 1964–1965 | Stevenage Town | ||
| National team | |||
| 1953–1957 | Scotland | 12 | (2) |
| 1953–1957 | Scottish League XI | 8 | (4) |
| 1952 | Scottish League Two XI[1] | 1 | (2) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Thomas "Tommy" Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer who played for Ashfield, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town, and the Scotland national team.
Club career
Ring was born in Glasgow and is perhaps best known for his time at Scottish club Clyde, during which he won the Scottish Cup in 1954–55 and 1957–58. Ring scored the winning goal in the replayed 1955 Scottish Cup Final, against Celtic. Ring also won Scottish Division Two championships in 1951–52 and 1956–57.
Ring was transferred to Everton in January 1960 for £12,000. Ring made a significant contribution at Everton in the 1960–61 season, and is still considered one of their best players hence many headlines were written concerning him such as 'Blues could just "Ring" for service', etc. Ring left Everton, due to a broken leg injury, in November 1961 and joined Barnsley. He returned to Scotland in 1963 with a short spell at Aberdeen before ending his career with again, short spells at Fraserburgh in the Scottish Highland Football League, and with Stevenage Town in the English Southern Football League.
International career
Ring was capped 12 times by Scotland, all of which were earned while at Clyde, and scored two goals. One goal was against the famous Hungary team of Ferenc Puskás during the 1954–55 season. The other was scored against England at Wembley in 1957; Ring scored after just one minute, but England went on to win 2-1. Of the 12 caps Ring won, five were earned while Clyde were a Division Two club.[2] He also represented the Scottish League XI.[3]
In popular culture
His name has become a running gag on BBC Radio Scotland's Off the Ball radio programme as his surname has multiple connotations. This ensures that he makes it into the show's 'team of the week' almost every week.
References
- ↑ Scottish League Division B team scottishleague.net. Retrieved 28-10-2013.
- ↑ Scotland Caps Below Top Level of Scottish football ScottishLeague.Net. Retrieved 19-03-2014.
- ↑ "Scotland FL Players by Appearances". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
