George Ramsay

The title of this article is ambiguous. For more meanings, see George Ramsay (disambiguation) .

George Ramsay
Personnel
Surname	George Burrell Ramsay
birthday	March 1, 1855
place of birth	Glasgow ,  Scotland
date of death	October 7, 1935
Place of death	Llandrindod Wells ,  Wales
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1874-1882	Aston Villa
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
1884-1926	Aston Villa
1 Only league games are given.

George Burrell Ramsay (born March 1, 1855 in Glasgow , † October 7, 1935 in Llandrindod Wells ) was a Scottish football player and coach . His name is inextricably linked with the development of the Birmingham football club Aston Villa , which he joined shortly after it was founded and which he accompanied during its most successful period for 59 years as a player, coach, club secretary and vice-president.

Player career

In 1876, Ramsay presented to Aston Villa for a trial session. The club had been founded just two years earlier and consisted of a number of cricketers who, with little experience in this still young sport, went to work in a very disorganized manner and played in a club that bore no resemblance to the professional club of later years. And so in these states there was a real danger of a quick dissolution.

This changed when Ramsay impressed his audience with ball control and dribbling skills during audition . The club took on the 21-year-old Scotsman and immediately gave his new player the role of team captain . It wasn't long before word of Ramsay's strength got around and so the “star player” attracted viewers who primarily wanted to see these skills learned in Scotland. Ramsay initiated and supported the further efforts of the club to strengthen the team and was instrumental in signing Archie Hunter - another Scot whose reputation was still more than a century later when he was appointed to the Football League 100 Legends “Knocked down. This changed the way of playing in the club, away from pure physical exertion and balls hit far forward - as Ramsay described it in retrospect - to a Scottish-style passing game.

Together with John Linsay, Ramsay discovered the Perry Barr venue , which made it possible for the club to receive entry fees for the first time (later he and Fred Rinder negotiated the move to Villa Park ). From then on, he also organized the training units, which soon resulted in a significant increase in performance within the team. This resulted in victory in the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880 , in which Ramsay led the team as captain in the final.

After the active career

Due to an injury, Ramsay had to give up active football in 1882. However, he remained loyal to Aston Villa and led the club into a "golden era" between 1884 and 1926 as club secretary and coach. During this time, the Villans won six English championships and six FA Cup editions each. This established the club in the ranks of the best English football clubs. Until 1935 Ramsey stayed with the club as vice president and in an advisory capacity.

A short time after the death of George Ramsay in October 1935, the long period of success at Aston Villa ended and led to the second division for the first time after the 1935/36 season - a scenario that seemed unthinkable during Ramsay's lifetime. Since then, the club should win both the championship and the FA Cup only once. The significance of the identification figure was made clear on the gravestone of his final resting place in the church cemetery in Handsworth Wood with the inscription "Founder of Aston Villa" (German: Founder of Aston Villa).

Success as a trainer

• English master: 1893/94, 1895/96, 1896/97, 1898/99, 1899/1900, 1909/10
• English cup winners: 1886/87, 1894/95, 1896/97, 1904/05, 1912/13, 1919/20

Web links

• Biography on the website of Aston Villa (English.)