Players who end up in working class jobs at the end of their careers are always deserving of remembering, and today’s feature gives an insight into Ronnie Rees. He played for Coventry City and the Swans.
Born in what was Brecknockshire towards the end of World War Two, Ronnie Rees found his early life in Ystradgynlais hard but of course it was for everyone when the war ended. His first club was Merthyr Boys, and this is where he was first picked up by Billy Frith and brought to Coventry City. Whilst at Merthyr Ronnie played in the Salvation Army junior band. A keen cornet player he was well regarded and had story after story of his time growing up in Ystradgynlais. That would become a hallmark of Ronnie Rees’s persona, always laughing and always friendly. His early schooling was at Twyn and then Queens Road School in Merthyr. His cornet playing is remembered by the residents of Cromwell and Stuart Street in Merthyr, his junior band would give those who lived there then an early wake up call !
At seventeen a young Rees turned up at Highfield Road in 1962. He came to fruition as a player under the guidance of then Sky Blues manager, Jimmy Hill, now sadly departed in 2015, he is fondly remembered by Coventry followers. He campaigned for the freedom of players to negotiate their salaries, and the freedom to leave a club once a player’s contract had expired. Hill worked on various fronts to consolidate the strength of the PFA’s members and foster public support for the players’ campaign to end the maximum wage and the ‘retain and transfer’ systems. A proposed players strike in 1961 forced the English FA to concede to the demands, and the first footballer in England negotiated the first £100 a week contract. That was Johnny Haynes.
Ronnie excelled at Coventry City under Hill, making in excess of two hundred and sixty appearances for the club. He scored forty two goals from his wide right position. He won titles with the club in the third then second division of the league as it was then, and is remembered by the Sky Blues as one of the most exciting players of the sixties. He was capped for Wales. He made his debut for Wales in October 1964 against Scotland, Rees set up two late goals for Ken Leek in a 3-2 win. Rees was capped thirty nine times and scored three goals. He became a regular for Wales in the British Championships, European Championship qualifiers and World Cup qualifiers.
After leaving Coventry Ronnie commanded big fee’s of over sixty grand for joining Forest and West Brom.
As a Wales International Rees netted his goals against Denmark in 1965 and Northern Ireland in 1968 & 1970. His final appearance for his country was in a Euro qualifier away to Romania in November 1971. A year later Ronnie joined Swansea City, for the Swans that was a club record of twenty six thousand pounds. That was back in the days when big players signed on the pitch and would then play for their new club. He would go on to play over one hundred times for the Swans. Ronnie loved his last playing years back in Wales, visiting his local pub in Murton, The Plough & Harrow and was often seen driving his light green Ford Capri. He finished off his career at Haverfordwest County in Pembrokeshire, a destination for many ex Swans of the time.
Ronnie suffered a stroke aged fifty one, in the years before that he worked for Ford Bridgend and in Swansea, back then players, even of Ron’s ability couldn’t retire and live the life of Riley. From the time of his stroke Ronnie found life difficult, he eventually ended up at Hengoed nursing home where he would still receive many visitors. His death was announced on October 30th 2023, aged seventy nine. There have been some little known facts in this account on Ronnie Rees, and here’s a final one. His last game of football came with Morriston Town, another player who once bitten by the city of Swansea just couldn’t leave.
This one’s for you Ronnie.
Thanks to the FAW.