Ron Flowers
Footballer at the heart of Stan Cullis’s great Wolves side who never missed a penalty for England
RON FLOWERS, who has died aged 87, was a footballer who was part of the 1966 World Cup-winning England squad; although he did not get on to the pitch during the tournament, he did play for his country 49 times, while at club level he spent 15 distinguished years at Wolverhampton Wanderers as a cultured midfielder, winning three League titles and the FA Cup.
He came tantalisingly close to playing in the World Cup final against West Germany: on the eve of the match Jack Charlton was suffering from a cold, and the England manager Alf Ramsey told Flowers that if Big Jack was unfit he would play in his place. But after a sleepless night Flowers woke up to find that Charlton was ready to go. “I knew it would take more than a cold to stop Jackie, so it wasn’t such a let-down,” he recalled.
Though it was Flowers’s last international involvement, he did end his career as England’s record penaltytaker, having scored six in his 49 games and missing none (Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane would later pass his mark).
Ronald Flowers was born at Edlington in South Yorkshire on July 2 1934, the son of a miner. He had footballing genes: his uncle George had played for Doncaster Rovers, while his younger brother John went on to make 164 appearances for them. Ron was on Rovers’ books, too, while working as an apprentice in the local railway yards, but moved on to non-league Wath Wanderers, who were effectively a feeder club for Wolves. Flowers duly went down to the Black Country in 1951, having done his National Service as an aircraftman second class.
He made his first-team debut for Wolves in 1952 against Blackpool. With Stanley Matthews marauding down the wing, Blackpool won 5-2, though Flowers had the consolation of scoring with a thumping header from a corner-kick. He went on to play 20 times that season, as Wolves finished third in the First Division, English football’s top tier.
Led by their formidable manager Stan Cullis, they won the League Championship the following year and were runners-up the season after, with Flowers forming a talented half-back line alongside Billy Wright and Bill Slater.
Wolves were rampant for the rest of the decade, winning the League twice more, in 1958 and 1959, scoring 103 and 110 goals respectively. In 1960 they were runners-up again, and thrashed Blackburn Rovers 3-0 in the FA Cup final.
Flowers had made his England debut shortly before his 21st birthday in a 1-0 defeat against France in 1955. After a disappointing display he had to wait a while for another chance, but returned for a 2-2 draw against Wales in 1958, and was undisputed first choice for the next five years.
He had the distinction of scoring England’s first ever goal in the European Championship, in a qualifying tie against France at Hillsborough in 1962.
He had missed out on selection for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but had a good tournament four years later in Chile as England reached the quarter-finals, going out to the eventual winners, Brazil. Flowers twice scored from the spot in the group stage, in the win against Argentina and the defeat to Hungary. His last game was the 1966 World Cup warm-up against Norway; he had scored 10 goals in 49 games.
He left Wolves for Northampton Town in 1967, having scored 33 goals in 467 league games. He became playermanager, and stayed two years before moving to non-league Wellington Town (who later became Telford United).
In retirement Flowers opened a sports shop in Wolverhampton, which was later managed by his two sons and expanded into a sportswear and school uniform supplier. In 2015 he was made a vice-president of Wolves.
As one of the 11 England squad members who did not play in the World Cup final, Flowers missed out on a medal. In 2009, following a concerted campaign, Fifa finally awarded them, Flowers receiving his at Downing Street from the then prime minister, Gordon Brown. He was appointed MBE in 2021.
Ron Flowers married Yvonne Hart at the Molineux Hotel near Wolves’ stadium in 1957. She survives him along with their two sons.
Ron Flowers, born July 28 1934, died November 12 2021