Ronald Orr

Ronald Orr (born 6 August 1880) was a Scottish international footballer who played for Newcastle United and Liverpool Football Club amongst others in the early 20th century.

Life and playing career

Born in Bartonholm, Ayrshire, Scotland, Orr was an inside-forward who played for Kilwinning Eglinton, Glossop North End and St Mirren before Newcastle United signed him in May 1901. He spent seven seasons on Tyneside helping the "Magpies" to the League title in both 1904-05 and 1906-07. He also appeared for the club in the 1906 FA Cup Final, where they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat by Everton.

Orr joined Liverpool in April 1908, when manager Tom Watson paid £350 for his transfer. He made his debut in a Football League Division One match at Villa Park against Aston Villa on the 4 April 1908, bagging his first goal in the same match. Unfortunately for Orr and Liverpool, it was a consolation goal in a 5-1 defeat. This wasn't to be his only strike of the season however, as he managed a more than respectable 4 goals in the final 5 matches of that 1907-08 season.

Orr kept up his goalscoring exploits the following season, finishing up as the Reds top scorer with 20 goals from his 33 starts an average of a goal every 1.65 games. The following season proved to be a tougher challenge where goals were concerned and Orr only scored 5 times in his 31 appearances. By the 1910-11 season he was struggling to hold down a regular starting role at Anfield and he eventually lost his place completely at the beginning of the 1911-12 campaign. Orr eventually left for Raith in January 1912, after making a total of 112 appearances for Liverpool, during which he scored 39 times. He also played for South Shields before he retired.

Orr represented Scotland on 4 occasions during his career. His debut was on 9 April 1900 in a British Home Championship match against Ireland at Solitude, Belfast a game that Scotland won 3-0. His one and only goal for the Scots also came in a British Championship game against England, like his debut goal for Liverpool, it was at Villa Park, this time, in a 2-2 draw on the 3 May 1902.

Career details

As a player:

* Newcastle United (1901 - 1908): 180 appearances, 70 goals
* Liverpool FC (1908 - 1912): 112 appearances, 39 goals
* Scotland (1900 - 1904): 4 appearances, 1 goal

External links

* [http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=782 Player profile at LFChistory.net]