Parkin Ray Image 1 Southampton 1937

Description

Crook, County Durham born inside right and later right half Ray Parkin began his football career with Esh Winning and spent two seasons as an amateur on the books of Newcastle United from October 1926, without making a first team appearance. In 1928 he signed for First Division club Arsenal, making his Football League debut at Sunderland in January 1929, scoring Arsenal’s goal in a 5-1 defeat, scoring 3 goals in 5 matches that season. He next appeared in The Gunners’ first eleven in September 1931, playing 10 matches that season and he scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Manchester City in January 1932. Parkin first played at right half a year later. He played 5 matches each season as Arsenal won the League Championship in 1933 and 1934 and played in the Sheriff of London Charity Shield match when Arsenal beat The Corinthians 9-2 at Highbury in October 1932.

He spent eight seasons at Highbury, always a fringe player and in three of those seasons he didn’t make a first team appearance, and by the time he joined Middlesbrough for a fee of £2,500 in January 1936 he had scored 11 goals in 27 matches for Arsenal. However he remained a fringe player at Ayresome Park, playing just 3 matches a season in his two seasons on Teeside, before a transfer to Second Division club Southampton for a fee of £1,500 in September 1937. He was a regular for The Saints for two seasons, initially at inside right until he again converted to right half in September 1938, but his career was effectively ended with the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 having scored 10 goals in 59 matches for Southampton.