Tommy Ring

Thomas Ring (8 August 1930 – 5 October 1997) was a Scottish footballer, who played at outside left for Ashfield Juniors, Clyde, Everton, Barnsley, Aberdeen, Fraserburgh, Stevenage Town and for Scotland.

Club career Ring was born in Glasgow and is best known for his time with Clyde, during which he won the Scottish Cup in 1954–55 and also in 1957–58. Ring scored the winning goal in the 1955 Scottish Cup Final replay versus Celtic.

He started out as a promising junior player with Ashfield. After he represented an RAF XI against Blackpool Reserves, an opposition scout tried to recruit him. He'd already joined the Bullywee, but that scout turned out to be ex Clyde captain Danny Blair.

Clyde also won the Division Two title twice in 1951–52 and 1956–57. He scored 178 goals in 384 appearances for the club in national competitions.

Ring was transferred to Everton in January 1960 for £12,000. He made a significant contribution for the Toffees in the 1960–61 season; many headlines were written concerning him, such as 'Blues could just Ring for service'.

Ring departed Goodison Park after a broken leg injury November 1961

Ring was capped a dozen times for Scotland whilst playing for the Bully Wee and scored two goals, with one versus the famous Hungary team with Ferenc Puskás during the 1954–55 season. The other was scored versus England at Wembley in 1957. Ring scored in the first minute, although England went on to win 2–1.

He was the second Division Two player to be capped against the auld enemy, and he remains the last. Five of his twelve caps were awarded in Division Two.

International goals

Scores and results list for Scotland's, Scottish League XI's, and Glasgow's goal tally first.

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 'A' Internationals 1 8 December 1954 Hampden Park, Glasgow 1–2 2–4 Challenge match 2 6 April 1957 Wembley Stadium, London 1–0 1–2 1956–57 Home Championship League Internationals 1 17 March 1954 Dalymount Park, Dublin League of Ireland XI 3–0 3–1 Challenge match 2 6 September 1956 Windsor Park, Belfast Irish League XI 2–1 7–1 Challenge match 3 26 September 1956 Shawfield Park, Glasgow League of Ireland XI 3–0 3–1 Challenge match 4 13 March 1957 Ibrox Park, Glasgow The Football League XI 2–1 3–2 Challenge match 'B' League Internationals 1 17 March 1954 Solitude, Belfast Irish B League XI 2–0 6–0 Challenge match 2 5–0 Inter-county matches 1 10 November 1954 Shawfield Park, Glasgow Sheffield 4–5 Floodlight friendly 2 14 November 1956 2–2

In popular culture Ring's name is now a running gag on BBC Radio Scotland's Off the Ball radio programme, as his surname has multiple connotations. This ensures that he makes it into the show's 'team of the week' almost every Saturday.

Honours

Clyde Scottish Cup: 1954–55, 1957–58 Scottish Division Two: 1951–52, 1956–57 Supplementary Cup: 1951–52 Glasgow Cup: 1951–52, 1958–59 Glasgow Charity Cup: 1951–52, 1957–58

Everton Liverpool Senior Cup: 1959–60

Individual Clyde FC Hall of Fame: Inducted, 2016 Abbeyleix Hall of Fame