Alexander Ormston

Alexander "Alec" Ormston (10 February 1919 – 12 July 1975) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke City.[1]

Alexander Ormston
Personal information
Full name Alexander Ormston[1]
Date of birth (1919-02-10)10 February 1919[1]
Place of birth Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Date of death 12 July 1975(1975-07-12) (aged 56)[1]
Place of death Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Position(s) Winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1936 Summerbank
1937–1951 Stoke City 172 (29)
1941Linfield (loan)
1952 Hereford United
1953 Stafford Rangers
1954 Runcorn
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Ormston attended Wellington Road school where he was captain of the Hanley boys and Stoke-on-Trent schools football teams. After finishing school he started work at a local colliery whilst also playing football with Summerbank, a nursery club for local league side Stoke City.[1] He signed professional forms with Stoke when he was 17 and made his debut the following year.[1] He had a peculiar crouching style, huddled over the ball with his body arched forward at a seemingly impossible angle as he was a hunchback.[1] However, despite this at 5 ft 6 he was a pacey winger whose major strength was his crossing and his ability to track back and help out the defence which was unheard of in the 1940s.[1] During the war he joined the home guard where he was stationed in Belfast.[1] Whilst in Northern Ireland he played with Linfield where he won a number of honours.[1]

When the football League resumed he had a prolific 1946–47 season scoring 20 goals in 40 matches from left wing as Stoke came within one win of winning the First Division title. In the final match of the season Stoke knew that a win at Sheffield United would hand them their first league title, Ormston scored as Stoke lost 2–1. Ormston started to have more chest complaints in 1949 and he missed most of the season before returning for the 1950–51 season.[1] However the team started to split up and with new players being brought in Ormston left at the age of 32 for Hereford United and later played for Stafford Rangers and Runcorn.[1]

After football

Ormston spent time recuperating at Loggerheads sanatorium in Shropshire before becoming landlord at the Fountain Head in Hanley and later worked in the offices of a colliery.[1] He also worked part-time at Stoke City's promotions office.[1]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City[1] 1937–38 First Division 600060
1938–39 First Division 9010100
1945–46 War League 4040
1946–47 First Division 4020514521
1947–48 First Division 33520355
1948–49 First Division 42240462
1949–50 First Division 500050
1950–51 First Division 35240392
1951–52 First Division 200020
Career Total 1722920119230

References

  1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
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