Billy Ronson

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Billy Ronson

| image =

| fullname =

| birth_date = {{birth date |1957|01|22|df=y}}

| birth_place = Fleetwood, England

| death_date ={{death date and age|2015|4|8|1957|1|22|df=y}}

|death_place = Perry Hall, Maryland, United States

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=4}}

| position = Midfielder

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1974–1979

| years2 = 1978

| years3 = 1979–1981

| years4 = 1981–1982

| years5 = 1982–1986

| years6 = 1986

| years7 = 1986

| years8 = 1986–1992

| years9 = 1992

| years10 = 1992–1993

| years11 = 1993–1995

| years12 = 1994

| years13 = 1995

| years14 = 1996

| years15 = 1996–1997

| years16 = 1998–1999

| clubs1 = Blackpool

| clubs2 = → Fort Lauderdale Strikers (loan)

| clubs3 = Cardiff City

| clubs4 = Wrexham

| clubs5 = Barnsley

| clubs6 = → Birmingham City (loan)

| clubs7 = Blackpool

| clubs8 = Baltimore Blast (indoor)

| clubs9 = Tampa Bay Rowdies

| clubs10 = Detroit Rockers (indoor)

| clubs11 = Baltimore Bays (indoor)

| clubs12 = Baltimore Bays

| clubs13 = Pittsburgh Stingers (indoor)

| clubs14 = Washington Warthogs (indoor)

| clubs15 = Baltimore Bays (indoor)

| clubs16 = Baltimore Spirit (indoor)

| caps1 = 128

| caps2 = 17

| caps3 = 90

| caps4 = 32

| caps5 = 113

| caps6 = 2

| caps7 = 3

| caps8 = 280

| caps9 =

| caps10 = 29

| caps11 = ?

| caps12 =

| caps13 = 8

| caps14 = 24

| caps15 =

| caps16 = 17

| goals1 = 12

| goals2 = 1

| goals3 = 4

| goals4 = 1

| goals5 = 3

| goals6 = 0

| goals7 = 0

| goals8 = 112

| goals9 =

| goals10 = 19

| goals11 = ?

| goals12 =

| goals13 = 5

| goals14 = 14

| goals15 =

| goals16 = 5

| manageryears1 = 1993–1997

| managerclubs1 = Goucher College

| manageryears2 = 1993–1995

| managerclubs2 = Baltimore Bays (assistant)

| manageryears3 = 1996–1998

| managerclubs3 = Baltimore Bays

| manageryears4 = 1998–1999

| managerclubs4 = Baltimore Spirit (assistant)

}}

William Ronson (22 January 1957 – 8 April 2015) was an English footballer who spent twelve seasons in the English leagues, one in the North American Soccer League, six in the Major Indoor Soccer League and another seven years in a variety of lower division indoor and outdoor leagues in the United States. He also coached at the collegiate and professional levels.

Playing career

Ronson, the son of Fleetwood stalwart Percy Ronson, began his career at Blackpool, making his debut in March 1975 against Nottingham Forest. He originally struggled to break into the side but eventually managed to establish himself in the first team. In 1978, he went on loan to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League. He was unable to prevent Blackpool's relegation during the 1977–78 season and spent one more year at the club before joining Cardiff City for a fee of £130,000, a club record at the time.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00roll |url-access=registration |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1980–81 |publisher=Macdonald Futura Publishers |year=1980 |isbn=0362020175 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/rothmansfootball00roll/page/111 111]}} He missed very few games in his two years at Ninian Park before growing disenchanted with the club's lack of progress and leaving to join Wrexham.{{Cite book | title = The Who's Who of Cardiff City | first = Dean | last = Hayes | publisher = Breedon Books | year = 2006 | page=166 | location=Derby | isbn= 1-85983-462-0}}

His only season at Wrexham ended in relegation, and he left to join Barnsley. He became popular at the Yorkshire club before falling out with manager Allan Clarke and being loaned to Birmingham City before being released and returning to Blackpool on non-contract terms. He moved to America in 1986 to join the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He remained with the Blast for six seasons. The Blast collapsed at the end of the 1991–92 season. In February 2009, the reconstituted Blast inducted Ronson into the team's Hall of Fame.{{Cite web |url=http://www.potomacsoccerwire.com/news/460/5565 |title=Baltimore Blast to induct Ronson and Chinapoo in sixth Hall of Fame class |access-date=14 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302132720/http://www.potomacsoccerwire.com/news/460/5565 |archive-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=dead }} In June 1992, he signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the American Professional Soccer League.LOCALLY The Tampa Tribune – Thursday, 18 June 1992. In 1994, he joined the Baltimore Bays of the USISL. On 19 November 1992, he joined the Detroit Rockers of the National Professional Soccer League.SPORTS TODAY The Buffalo News – Friday, 20 November 1992.[http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl93.txt NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE FINAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS – 1992–1993] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231258/http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl93.txt |date=27 September 2007 }} In the fall of 1993, he signed with the Baltimore Bays as that team prepared for the 1993–94 USISL indoor season.[https://www.baltimoresun.com/1993/11/26/ronson-is-still-kicking-this-time-indoors-for-bays/ Ronson is still kicking . . . this time indoors for Bays] He was the 1994 Rookie of the Year.{{Cite web |url=http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1994.html#USISL |title=The Year in American Soccer – 1994 |access-date=14 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504134208/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1994.html#USISL |archive-date=4 May 2010 |url-status=dead }} He continued with the Bays, playing the 1994 outdoor and 1994–95 indoor seasons. On 26 July 1995, he signed with the Pittsburgh Stingers of the Continental Indoor Soccer League.TWO LITTLE-USED STINGERS WILL GET THEIR SHOT TONIGHT Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) – Friday, 28 July 1995. In August 1995, Ronson was in an auto accident which put him out for the rest of the season. In June 1996, he joined the Washington Warthogs of the CISL.WARTHOGS OPEN SEASON WITH NEW, MATURE LOOK Washington Post – Friday, 21 June 1996. At the end of the 1996 summer indoor season, Ronson returned to the Bays where he became a player-coach for the 1996–97 USISL indoor season. He was the league's points leader and MVP.{{Cite web |url=http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1997.html#usisl |title=The Year in American Soccer – 1997 |access-date=14 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218145254/http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1997.html#usisl |archive-date=18 December 2010 |url-status=dead }} In December 1998, he joined the Baltimore Spirit on a 15-day contract.REINIGER BREAKS OUT OF SLUMP St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) – Saturday, 26 December 1998.[http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl99.txt NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE FINAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS – 1998–1999] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128003213/http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl99.txt |date=28 January 2016 }}

Coaching

In 1993, Ronson became the head coach of the Goucher College NCAA Division III women's soccer team. He coached the team through the 1997 season, compiling a 41–44–4 record.[http://athletics.goucher.edu/sports/wsoc/record_book/program_history Goucher College soccer coaching records] In 1994, he became an assistant coach with the Baltimore Bays.Raleigh soccer team starts play at Baltimore The News & Observer – Saturday, 1 May 1993 He left the Bays in 1995 to play for the Pittsburgh Stingers then returned as a player-head coach of the Bays for the 1996–1997 indoor season. After retiring, Ronson had spells as assistant coach and later assistant general manager at Baltimore Blast. In 2009, he was inducted into the Baltimore Blast hall of fame.{{Cite web |url=http://www.baltimoreblast.com/news/headlines/index.html?article_id=51 |title=Sixth class to be inducted into hall of fame |publisher=Baltimoreblast.com |date=26 February 2009 |accessdate=29 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917200546/http://baltimoreblast.com/news/headlines/index.html?article_id=51 |archive-date=17 September 2010 |url-status=dead }}

His last known employer was an American company named Action Business Systems.{{Cite web |url=http://www.abs-easton.com/Billy_Ronson.htm |title=Billy Ronson |publisher=abs-easton.com |accessdate=29 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090723131104/http://www.abs-easton.com/Billy_Ronson.htm |archivedate=23 July 2009 }}

He died of natural causes at his home in Perry Hall, Baltimore County, on 8 April 2015.{{cite news |title=Blast Hall of Famer Billy Ronson dead at 58 |url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/soccer/bs-sp-blast-ronson-0409-20150408-story.html |first=Glenn |last=Graham |newspaper=Baltimore Sun |date=8 April 2015 |accessdate=9 April 2015}}