Ray Wilson

Ray Wilson is a English former professional footballer and a member of the victorious England 1966 World Cup Team. Wilson was born in Derbyshire on 17th December 1934 and became an apprentice railwayman when leaving school before he was spotted playing amateur football by a Huddersfield Town scout. Wilson signed for the Huddersfield youth team and would train with them at day whilst continuing to work the Railways at night, before he was called up for National Service as a young man. Huddersfield manager Bill Shankly recognised Wilson's strong defensive abilities, as well as his competent overlapping, and he signed a professional contract with the club in 1955 upon the completion of his National Service.

Wilson made his Huddersfield debut in 1955 against Manchester United and established himself as Huddersfield's first choice left back within two years. He was rewarded for some consistently strong form with his first cap for England in April 1960 against Scotland and became a fixture in the squad during the 12 months which followed, leading to him being included in the squad for the 1962 World Cup in Chile where he played all of England's four games. Following the World Cup, Alf Ramsey was appointed England manager and Wilson survived his overhaul to retain his place as England's primary left-back, however this status was threatened by a serious injury in 1964 when he tore a muscle and was out of the game for almost a entire season. Other players including Gerry Byrne were given the opportunity to make the left back spot their own, and it was eventually Byrne and Wilson who made it into Ramsey's final 1966 world cup squad.

Wilson, by now 31 years old, played a key part in an Everton team that won the FA Cup during the 1965/66 season and his impressive performances ensured that he went into the World Cup as the first choice left back, and he started ever game in the group stage, then the quarter final against Argentina, the semi final against Portugal, and then finally the last game against West Germany. The final is one of the most famous games in football history and it was a weak Wilson header which gifted Germany the first goal to give them an early lead; fortunately there was a long time left to play and it was ultimately a Geoff Hurst hat trick which won the game for England after extra time. This success capped a particularly successful year for Wilson, with the only other world cup winning member to have achieved a domestic success that year being Liverpool striker Roger Hunt (as Ian Callaghan and Gerry Byrne were not recognised as winners at the time).

After the world cup Wilson remained the first choice England left back, playing regularly as England progressed through 1968 European Championship qualification and then in the tournament itself; he started every game in the tournament up to the third place play-off against the USSR. This cap was to be Wilson's 63rd and final International appearance, and he held the record for playing the most England games before scoring a goal. This record has since been beaten by Gary Neville and Ashley Cole. Soon after the tournament Wilson suffered a serious knee injury and lost his England place to up-and-coming Leeds United full back Terry Cooper, and he also struggled to win his place back in the Everton upon his return to full fitness. He moved to Oldham Athletic on a free transfer in 1969, meaning that he missed out on a First Division winners medal in 1970, and he retired at the age of 36 in 1971 following 25 league games for his last club.

Wilson briefly put his boots on again for two games at Bradford City, where he took over as caretaker manager between September 1971 and November 1971. Wilson left the game after this point and raised eyebrows when he opened an undertaker's business in Huddersfield, before retiring from the funeral business in 1997 and settling in Halifax. Ray Wilson was awarded the MBE for services to football in 2000 alongside Roger Hunt, George Cohen, Nobby Stiles, and Alan Ball.