Ray Ritchie

For the Australian rules footballer, see Ray Ritchie (Australian rules footballer).

Ray Ritchie (31 October 1936 – 13 March 2015) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, and coached in the 1980s. A New South Wales state and Australia national representative three-quarter back, he played in the New South Wales Rugby League Premiership for Sydney's Manly-Warringah club, becoming their coach after retirement from playing.^[4]

Ray Ritchie

Personal information
Born	31 October 1936 Paddington, New South Wales
Died	13 March 2015(2015-03-13) (aged 78)
Playing information
Position	Wing, Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1955–59 Manly-Warringah 49 37 0 0 111 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1958 City NSW 1 0 0 0 0 1957 New South Wales 2 3 0 0 9 1957 Australia 1 1 0 0 3
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1981–82 Manly-Warringah 53 32 19 2 60
Source: [1][2][3]

Playing career

Ritchie started playing first-grade for Sydney's Manly-Warringah club during the 1955 NSWRFL season.^[5] At the end of the following year, he was selected to play on the wing for a Combined Sydney team, scoring a try in their win against a touring Māori rugby league team.^[6] In 1957 he played for New South Wales against Queensland and made it into the Australian squad for the 1957 World Cup, becoming Kangaroo No. 334.^[7] Later in the year Ritchie was selected to play for Manly-Warringah in the 1957 NSWRFL season's grand final on the wing, but St. George won.^[8]

Coaching career

Ritchie was appointed head coach of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles for the 1981 NSWRFL season and under him the club was back in the semi-finals that year.^[9] The following year Manly reached the grand final, but Ritchie stood down before the 1983 season, and was succeeded by Bob Fulton.^[10]

His daughter Donna attended the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics as a wheelchair basketballer and won a silver medal in 2000.^[11]