Ron Stitfall

Football player infobox
playername = Ron Stitfall


fullname = Ronald Frederick Stitfall
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date|1925|12|14|df=y
cityofbirth = Cardiff
dateofdeath = death date and age|2008|06|22|1925|12|14|df=y
countryofbirth = Wales
height =
currentclub = Retired
clubnumber =
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1947-1964
clubs = Cardiff City
caps(goals) = 402 (8)
nationalyears = 1952-?
nationalteam = Wales
nationalcaps(goals) = 002 (0)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Ronald Frederick "Ron" Stitfall (14 December, 1925 – 22 June, 2008) was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international. A one club man he played his entire career for his hometown club Cardiff City.

Career

Stitfall originally joined Cardiff in 1939 and made his debut in a wartime friendly at the age of 14. He went on to feature in a number of friendlies for the club before serving in the army for four years during World War Two. He eventually returned to play for Cardiff in 1947 and made his professional debut for the club in October 1947 when he started a match against Bradford City at left-back in place of Alf Sherwood who was away on international duty for Wales. The match finished 0-0 due to Stitfall making a last minute goal line clearance to save a point for the Bluebirds.

In his first few years at Cardiff he played in numerous positions, including scoring five times during a spell wearing the number nine shirt as a striker during the 1949-50 season. Despite this he went on to score just eight league goals during his entire league career. For more than a decade he formed a formidable full back pairing with another Cardiff City legend in Alf Sherwood, who eventually left the club in 1955. In total Stitfall played as a professional for Cardiff for eighteen seasons before retiring. [ [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/ronstitfall.htm "Ron Stitfall"] NeilBrown.com Retrieved on 15 March, 2008] During his career at Cardiff he also played alongside his two brothers at the club. Albert Stitfall made a handful of appearances alongside Ron in the first team and Bob Stitfall played as a goalkeeper for the club and although he never made a professional appearance for the club he did play alongside his brothers for the reserve side.

During his career Stitfall gained two caps for Wales, making his debut in a 5-2 defeat against England on 12 November, 1952.

After retiring he joined the training staff at Newport County.

Honors

Welsh Cup winner: 1955-56, 1958-59
Welsh Cup finalist: 1959-60

References

*Cite book
title = The Who's Who of Cardiff City
first = Dean
last = Hayes
publisher = Breedon Books
year = 2006
isbn= 1-8598-3462-0