Ingham: Anthony (Tony)

1947-1950 (Player Details)

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Born: Harrogate: 18-02-1925

Debut: v West Bromwich Albion (a): 04-10-1947

5’11” 11st 5lb (1950)

Ingham almost missed out on a career in football. After serving with the Navy at the end of the War, he finished his electrical apprenticeship before even considering a career in football. He said "I reckoned that having a qualification would give me something behind me if things didn't work out for me in football, but I was lucky in the game". While completing his apprenticeship, he was playing for Harrogate Town but Leeds spotted him and he signed for them in April 1947. Ingham enjoyed four years at Leeds but never became an established player. He played as a half back until a highly-successful conversion to full back. Crisp-tackling Ingham was given his first break in League football by Leeds before going on to become a loyal servant with Queens Park Rangers. He was a defender and played in the middle or as a left back in his time at Leeds and Queens Park Rangers. His lack of first team opportunities at Leeds were mainly due to the fact that the great John Charles was holding the central defensive role and when he switched to left back he found himself competing with Jimmy Milburn, one of the famous Milburn family. Queens Park Rangers came in for him and he decided to take a chance and move to London. He joined Queens Park Rangers in June 1950 for £5,000 and proved a real bargain. He made his debut on November 25th 1950 in a home fixture against Doncaster Rovers. He made a record number of appearances for Rangers, five hundred and fourteen in the League, thirty in the FA Cup and four in the League Cup, a grand total of five hundred and forty-eight, and scored just three goals, he also represented the Third Division South against the North in 1958. Ingham also played seven Southern Floodlight Cup matches. He did also play a part in a low point for the club when they we relegated to Division Three South in 1951-52. Ingham felt that the way Rangers were relegated was a little unfair. He said "One more point would have kept us up and we should have got that in one of our last games against Cardiff City. Alf Sherwood punched the ball off the line but the ref never saw it so we didn't even get a penalty let alone a goal. We were drawing at the time and that goal would have given us the extra point to stay up. A few seasons after that we struggled to stay up and make it into the top half of the Third Division South table. Ranger then began to slowly improve with Manager Alec Stock and some good support from the Rangers fans. We used to have a superb home record in those days, we used to have sixteen to seventeen thousand every game and we played some great stuff". Ingham almost left Rangers in the early 1960's but was persuaded to stay at Rangers by Jim Gregory with the offer of staying on at the club after his retirement from playing. He played his last game for Rangers in 1963 and still holds the record for most appearances for the club with five hundred and forty-eight games for them. He also holds the record number of consecutive appearances, two hundred and seventy-two, comprising two hundred and fifty in the League and twenty-two in the Cup, including five seasons as an ever-present. Queens Park Rangers gave him a Testimonial against an International XI on 3rd May 1967 After retiring he had a spell as Rangers trainer, then became the club’s Commercial Manager and later worked in the pools office at Loftus Road, where he became a Director. Ingham has always been a popular man at Rangers. He became a Commercial Director of the club in 1981 a role he enjoyed at the club he called his own. Ingham was acknowledged as a true Rangers legend and will always be remembered as a very loyal servant of Queens Park Rangers. The Patrons' Club at Loftus Road was renamed "The Tony Ingham Suite" in his honour. Ingham died on 21 April 2010, aged eighty-five, following an illness. The Queens Park Rangers players and supporters held a minute's applause before the game against Newcastle United on 2nd May 2010.