Ronnie Blackman

Ron Blackman (born 2 April 1925 in Portsmouth) was a striker with Reading Football Club. He is the club's all time leading league goalscorer.

Blackman joined Reading in 1946 from Gosport Borough, making his debut for Reading with a 5-2 defeat v Bristol City. In the second half of the 1948/49 season, Blackman became a regular goal scorer, scoring the three goals in the 3-0 win v Leyton Orient on 12 February at Elm Park, in the Reading team that finished second to Swansea in the old Third Division (south). His goalscoring form continued and in the 1950/51 season he scored three of the four goals in the 4-2 win v Bristol City on 23 March.

Blackman played a vital role in the Reading team that finished second in the 1951/52 old Third Division, narrowly missing out on promotion. Towards the end of that season, within the space of three weeks, Ronnie scored a total of 10 goals at Elm Park - including five goals against Southend United on 14 April and four against Bournemouth on 3 May to end the season on a high note.

In 1953, Blackman left Reading to join Nottingham Forest with the club record for the number of League goals scored - 158.