On This Day – 2nd December
Alf Ramsey made his England debut on this day in 1948 in a 6-0 win over Switzerland at Highbury. He is better known for his managerial career but this was the first of 32 caps that he would win as a player.
The match against Switzerland was played on a Thursday afternoon at Highbury. It was due to have been played 24 hours before but was postponed due to fog.
Five players made their England debuts and three of them scored in the game. John Haines and John Hancocks both scored twice and John Rowley scored one. Jackie Milburn scored his second England goal in his third appearance.
In Ramsey’s playing days, he played as a right back. He made 346 appearances for Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur between 1946 and 1955, scoring 32 times. He also scored three goals for England, all from the penalty spot.
The third and final goal that Ramsey scored for his country was in the famous 6-3 defeat at home to Hungary in 1953.
Ramsey is famous for later guiding England to win the World Cup as a manager less than sixteen years later. He won the First Division title for Ipswich Town before being offered the England job in 1963.
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