After starting out at Everton, the former centre-forward played for the club in the 1950s and scored 39 goals in 53 matches during the 1956-57 season.
He went on to enjoy a very successful professional career at the very highest level. He made 236 appearances for Portsmouth and also played for Gillingham, Watford and Charlton.
Ron moved on to a glittering career in management and led Aston Villa to the First Division championship in 1980-81 – their first title for 71 years.
He resigned from Villa in 1982 when they were in the quarter-final of the European Cup – his assistant Tony Barton guided them to victory over Bayern Munich in the final soon after.
