Full name Ronald Burgess Name Ron Burgess Role Footballer | Place of death Swansea, Wales Years Team | |
 | ||
Date of birth (1917-04-09)9 April 1917 Date of death 14 February 2005(2005-02-14) (aged 87) Died February 14, 2005, Swansea, United Kingdom | ||
Place of birth Cwm, Ebbw Vale, Wales | ||
William Arthur Ronald "Ronnie" Burgess (9 April 1917 – 14 February 2005) was a Wales international footballer, who played in the wing half position. Burgess worked as a miner before joining Tottenham Hotspur from his local team Cwm Villa. He went on to captain the league championship winning Spurs team of the 1951 season, the year after he had helped them win the Division 2 crown.
Burgess captained the Wales national football team and won 32 caps for his country as a left half. He also played for the Great Britain team against the Rest of Europe in 1947.
Burgess joined Swansea Town in 1954 as a player and played until 1956, taking over as manager of Swansea Town from 1955 to 1958. He was then manager of Watford from 1959 to 1963, where he steered the club to its first-ever promotion in his first full season in charge, and nearly managed a second successive promotion the following year. However, Watford's league form and Burgess's popularity with the fans plummeted after he sold star player Cliff Holton, and he was sacked when the club were nearly relegated in 1963. He subsequently managed Hendon, leading them to win the Isthmian League and FA Amateur Cup double in 1964–65, after which he became a coach at Fulham.
Burgess also acted as caretaker manager of the Wales national team for one match in 1965 due to the unavailability of team manager Dave Bowen. He managed Bedford Town from early 1966 until shortly after Easter the following year. He later became manager of Harrow Borough, before becoming a scout at Luton Town. After leaving football, he worked in a warehouse, before moving to Swansea when he retired.
Family
His nephew, Clive Burgess was a Wales international rugby union player.