Ronnie Harbertson

Former Grantham FC player Ronnie Harbertson has died, aged 95.

Experienced forward who began his career at North Shields and Newcastle United, before making a total of 251 appearances, with 83 goals to his name, for Bradford City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Grimsby Town, (followed by a spell with Ashington), Darlington, Lincoln City and Wrexham, where he won a Welsh Cup winner’s medal in 1960.

Ronnie scored twice in his first Grantham game, the opening match of the 1962/63 season at Holbeach United, netted a hat-trick the following month against Sutton Town and at the end of his first campaign with the club finished as their top scorer. The following season was Grantham’s first Midland League Championship year and although only missing one of the games, needless to say Ronnie finished somewhat behind the record scoring of Jimmy Rayner, although he still managed a respectable 23 more goals to his name and none probably more important than in the game at Scarborough which secured the title.

During the 1964/65 season he missed several of the games during December and January, but worse was to come the following year when he missed every single one of the FA Cup games which ended in a Second Round tie at home to Swindon Town.

For his last two seasons with Grantham, Ronnie’s appearances came infrequently and he scored his last two goals in the January 1967 game at home to Stamford, a few months before his joint Testimonial, along with Pim Taylor, against Nottingham Forest.

Ronnie then had to wait nearly a year for his next and ultimately final competitive appearance for Grantham, in the April 1968 Midland League fixture at Gainsborough Trinity, although he did appear once more at the end of the season in the Bourne Hospital Cup Final.

 Away from football, he was also a keen cricketer, representing Lindum and later Hartsholme.

Ronnie went on to become a Prison Officer and then caretaker at a sheltered housing scheme.