A long serving and really quality ex-right back of ours from the 70s (for those too young to remember). He's featured on the news this week with his daughter Chloe speaking out about her Dad's dementia and the wider subject of ex footballers and dementia.

I only saw the tail end of his career and my main memory of him wasn't his defensive but game but the fact he had a very powerful shot. I'm sure there are others out there who will have longer memories of him.

Chloe Ritson: Dementia care is so expensive | 'Funding has to be there for ex-players' | Football News | Sky Sports 

Here's his Wikipedia page for those who want his stats and some detail. He's 74 years old now and clearly has a good family around him.

John Ritson - Wikipedia

He used to take most of our free kicks anywhere near their box.

Hit the wall 9 times out of 10 from (my very young at the time) memory.

I may well be doing him a disservice, but that's what I remember most about him.

Sad news - horrible disease that.

3 minutes ago, wakey said:

He used to take most of our free kicks anywhere near their box.

Hit the wall 9 times out of 10 from (my very young at the time) memory.

I may well be doing him a disservice, but that's what I remember most about him.

Sad news - horrible disease that.

It's tough to remember stuff from being very young. 

Us hitting the wall is my main memory of all Bolton free kicks from just outside the box in the 70s to be honest!! Then you'd watch Glenn Hoddle on the telly and compare and contrast! 

After doing the original post I remembered meeting John Ritson briefly at Holy Harbour. This would have been the early 80s after he'd called it a day. He was watching a Bolton Combination match in which an uncle of mine was playing. 

Ritson, Dunne, Allardyce, Jones in front of Seamus. Superb!!!

He certainly had a shot in him

Great servant to BWFC. Sad news

2 minutes ago, MancWanderer said:

Ritson, Dunne, Allardyce, Jones in front of Seamus. Superb!!!

He certainly had a shot in him

Great servant to BWFC. Sad news

With Mick Walsh and Peter Nicholson all around in the same squad. Happy days.

4 minutes ago, paulhanley said:

 Us hitting the wall is my main memory of all Bolton free kicks from just outside the box in the 70s to be honest!!

Exactly - Ritson took them all 😁

Think he scored a long range cracker at Mansfield the year we got promoted… very consistent and reliable full back…. Can’t remember him playing in the top flight the year after though. 

Edited May 23, 20242 yr by Mounts Kipper

Most notable goal was an ET winner free kick to knock Spurs out of the FA Cup

I don't mean to sound cold hearted but lots of folk get dementia who don't head footballs 

And the cost of caring for anyone old with anything is expensive

Footballers get paid more than most 

Still 

I know first hand how shite dementia is 

Nothing else to add, he was before my time

11 minutes ago, Mounts Kipper said:

Think he scored a long range cracker at Mansfield the year we got promoted… very consistent and reliable full back…. Can’t remember him playing in the top flight the year after though. 

Aye that's right. Only goal of the game. Without looking it up I'd say that game was in late winter/early spring just as nerves were kicking in after the two near misses for promotion. I think you are right re the top flight. But he did play in that last game of 77/8 v Fulham at home with 34000 on at Burnden. Check at 1:04 and you see Ritson come close with one of his long rangers 

 

9 minutes ago, Casino said:

Most notable goal was an ET winner free kick to knock Spurs out of the FA Cup

Ironic we got Tottenham in the cup in the same year we were in a promotion fight with them. A great 2-1 home win in front of a big attendance at a night match. It was a replay too.

In modern day language he used to Thundertwat the ball. 

19 minutes ago, Zico said:

I don't mean to sound cold hearted but lots of folk get dementia who don't head footballs 

And the cost of caring for anyone old with anything is expensive

Footballers get paid more than most 

Still 

I know first hand how shite dementia is 

Nothing else to add, he was before my time

1 in 3 people over the age of 65 sadly

He was 1of my favourite players growing up could do with a few John Ritsons now. 

27 minutes ago, Casino said:

Most notable goal was an ET winner free kick to knock Spurs out of the FA Cup

That's what I remember when I think of John Ritson.  Except I wasn't there, it was a night match and it was live commentary on BBC (radio 2?).  That great commentator Peter Jones described this shot of Ritson and as a kid he made it sound to me like a 40 yard pile driver hit like an exocet.  The commentary was so evocative it made me want to go to the next Bolton game and watch Ritson play.  I never saw him hit a pile driver in the few times I saw him!  But he was such a dependable, bone fide full back, they don't make them like that now.

And they don't make commentators anything like Peter Jones but that's for another thread.

29 minutes ago, paulhanley said:

Aye that's right. Only goal of the game. Without looking it up I'd say that game was in late winter/early spring just as nerves were kicking in after the two near misses for promotion. I think you are right re the top flight. But he did play in that last game of 77/8 v Fulham at home with 34000 on at Burnden. Check at 1:04 and you see Ritson come close with one of his long rangers 

 

Those yellow tracksuit tops are a thing of beauty (not to mention the jackets on show!).  But it always puzzled me as a kid why the players warmed up with tracky tops, then the sub had to go around and collect them, for the sake of 5 minutes.  Most clubs did it, presume it was just a marketing thing as buying the official tracksuit of clubs was definitely a fashion in the 70s.

25 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

That's what I remember when I think of John Ritson.  Except I wasn't there, it was a night match and it was live commentary on BBC (radio 2?).  That great commentator Peter Jones described this shot of Ritson and as a kid he made it sound to me like a 40 yard pile driver hit like an exocet.  The commentary was so evocative it made me want to go to the next Bolton game and watch Ritson play.  I never saw him hit a pile driver in the few times I saw him!  But he was such a dependable, bone fide full back, they don't make them like that now.

And they don't make commentators anything like Peter Jones but that's for another thread.

It was deep into et

He lined it up, cleaned his right boot on his left calf

Boom into the embankment goal

1 hour ago, paulhanley said:

With Mick Walsh and Peter Nicholson all around in the same squad. Happy days.

Oh aye. They didn’t fuck around that lot did they. No tippy tappy. No standing there with their foot on the ball. No pissing around with short passes to and from the keeper

Rose tinted specs I know but Ritson was in the mould of Hartle and Banks.

I’m an old cunt who absolutely loves the skill and fast movement of the modern midfielder and forward, which is so many light years ahead of what I grew up watching, but longs for defenders just to do their job and try to destroy that. Which of course, obviously, modern reffing would never allow

10 hours ago, paulhanley said:

Ironic we got Tottenham in the cup in the same year we were in a promotion fight with them. A great 2-1 home win in front of a big attendance at a night match. It was a replay too.

 

10 hours ago, Casino said:

It was deep into et

He lined it up, cleaned his right boot on his left calf

Boom into the embankment goal

Some Spurs fans made a sharp exit after our winner, they ran down the steps under the railway bridge and they attempted to  cover every exit from the Burnden Terrace to smash a few heads.

It worked for about 20 seconds or so as they whacked the first few  leaving the ground.

Once it became clear what was happening they got booted all over the place by the masses of Wanderers who had waited till the final whistle before leaving.

Edited May 24, 20242 yr by Burndens Bogs

It was

Hopkinson

Ritson Farimond

Rimmer Hulme and……..

Bromley Byrom Hill Davies and…….

In no particular order for my first games. 
I sort of remember that line up from the 70s but I can’t remember what I had for my tea last night.

8 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

That's what I remember when I think of John Ritson.  Except I wasn't there, it was a night match and it was live commentary on BBC (radio 2?).  That great commentator Peter Jones described this shot of Ritson and as a kid he made it sound to me like a 40 yard pile driver hit like an exocet.  The commentary was so evocative it made me want to go to the next Bolton game and watch Ritson play.  I never saw him hit a pile driver in the few times I saw him!  But he was such a dependable, bone fide full back, they don't make them like that now.

And they don't make commentators anything like Peter Jones but that's for another thread.

Peter Jones was the best there was or is every likely to be. There were others in his day like Bryon Butler and Larry Canning but he was the best of the lot. Would have loved to have heard his commentary on Ritson's goal. It would have been Radio 2 in those days. Two commentators and one co-commentator, often Dennis Law.

9 hours ago, Zico said:

I don't mean to sound cold hearted but lots of folk get dementia who don't head footballs 

And the cost of caring for anyone old with anything is expensive

Footballers get paid more than most 

Still 

I know first hand how shite dementia is 

Nothing else to add, he was before my time

Not sure how that's relevant to the particular point being made.

It's pretty much proven now that it increases the risk. Rugby similar.

Everyone had the right to NHS treatment too, irrespective of perceived wealth. 

11 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

Not sure how that's relevant to the particular point being made.

It's pretty much proven now that it increases the risk. Rugby similar.

Everyone had the right to NHS treatment too, irrespective of perceived wealth. 

The point was the headline of the article saying dementia care is expensive so funding should be made available to ex footballers 

I agree with the last sentence, but that's not the point either

10 hours ago, Mounts Kipper said:

Think he scored a long range cracker at Mansfield the year we got promoted… very consistent and reliable full back…. Can’t remember him playing in the top flight the year after though. 

Dont think he played in the team after we got promoted, think he went to Bury. Think your right about the Mansfield goal.

41 minutes ago, Zico said:

The point was the headline of the article saying dementia care is expensive so funding should be made available to ex footballers 

I agree with the last sentence, but that's not the point either

Maybe we need to make a distinction between many modern day footballers who will make huge wealth over the course of their careers and the likes of John Ritson who made little more than blokes who did other jobs during their era. 

The NHS doesn't provide social care - that's provided by councils. And if you've got more than about £25K in savings that are vast charges.

No problem at all with 70s footballers getting assistance

The PFA can levy their members