Striker Ron was a crowd hero in his first spell at Feethams, after arriving in January 1957.

Ron made club history in season 1957-58 by scoring in each of their five FA Cup ties before Quakers lost 6-1 at Wolves in the FA Cup fifth round.

He scored both goals in the 2-0 win at Rochdale in the first round.

The Northern Echo reported that Ron “was carried shoulder-high from the field by a band of happy Darlington supporters … his brilliant control and trickery was something not often seen from Darlington players.”

Ron scored two more against Southern League Boston in the 5-3 win in the next round, David Carr, who worked as a bricklayer at Wheatley Hill Colliery, scored a hat trick.

Norwich City, then in the Third Division South, was the destination in the third round. “We were branded as no-hopers. But we were really worked up, especially the skipper, Brian Henderson. I scored one of my rare headed goals when we won there, and it gave everybody a lot of pleasure.”

The Northern Echo’s headline read “Darlington confound critics with a confident victory.” Ron scored with a right foot shot after 20 minutes, then he headed the winner just six minutes from time.

Ron also scored in the fourth round at Stamford Bridge, the fighting 3-3 draw at Chelsea after the players enjoyed a seaside break in the days before the game.

“We went down to Brighton to prepare for the game, and for me it was a real experience being away from home, because I’d never done that before.

“West Ham were there at the same time as us, and we all felt ten foot tall, because we got star treatment. It took away a lot of the tension, which would have been there if we’d stayed at home.

“We should have won the game at Chelsea -- they took it for granted that it was going to be a stroll.

“I scored one of my best ever goals there. We got a throw in just on the halfway line, and Ken Furphy threw the ball into the inside forward position, and I hit a right foot shot from thirty yards. The ball flew into the top corner of the net.

“We all got some stick in that game. We were pulled back and hacked down while we were ahead, because Chelsea got desperate.”

Ron also scored in the replay at Feethams, which Quakers won 4-1 in extra time.

“I’d been off the field with a shoulder injury, because their keeper collided with me, but I came back and played up front. One of their players missed a good chance near the end of the ninety minutes, but in extra time we paralysed them. I scored when Tommy Moran put the ball across the 18 yard box, and I hit the ball into the corner. Jimmy Greaves played in the first game, but he didn’t play in the second because Ken Furphy didn’t let him get a kick.”

Ron had a marathon working day. “I worked a shift down the pit, from midnight until eight in the morning. I travelled forty miles down the A1 to play for Darlington, got home at 9.30, and then went back down the pit for another shift at midnight.”

It was a different story in the next round at Wolves, and Quakers lost 6-1.

When Ron was transferred to Lincoln City, Darlington refused him permission to retrieve his boots from the dressing room.

“The manager, Dickie Duckworth, had the keys of the dressing room, but not the main gate. I wanted to climb over the wall to get into the ground, but Dickie wouldn’t let me. So he climbed in, got my boots, and I set off down to Liverpool, where I played the next day for Lincoln.”