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[Steve Russell]

Tony Ingham – A QPR Legend who will never be Forgotten

QPR legend Tony Ingham sadly passed away on this day in 2010. In the Bolton Wanderers match
programme dated 14th March 1970, regular contributor Michael Wale featured him in his
‘Report’ series:

‘Did you know that Rangers have a man on their staff who played in the First Division for
Leeds United? One of the longest serving members of Queen’s Park Rangers is a Yorkshireman,
Tony Ingham who hails from Harrogate. He came to Loftus Road from Leeds United in 1950.

The most famous talent spotter of our time, Major Frank Buckley, brought Tony into soccer in
1946 after seeing him as a centre-half in the West Yorkshire League whilst playing for Harrogate Town.

He made his first team debut at Elland Road as a centre-half but decided perhaps he was a little short
in height and switched to full-back. At Leeds he played with the great John Charles.

Tony recalls that John was a “natural” at sixteen years of age and today is still in the game as
player-manager of Southern League club Hereford Town.

Tony had a record run of well over 500 league appearances for QPR and held a regular first team place
until 1963 when at the age of 39 he decided to call it a day. Since then he has been partially responsible
with Bill Hooper and a co-operative staff for building up one of the club’s most important fund raisers,
the Pools Department.

There are 40,000 subscribers to the club’s pools and every time they spend a shilling they are helping to
improve the ground and provide other amenities because that is where the money goes. It was Alec Stock
who persuaded Tony to join the club’s Pools Department.

Until then the last years of his playing days were part time; he was also planning his future in an electrical
business, because players in those not so distant days had to look outside the game for financial ways of
subsidising their meagre pay packets.

During Tony’s career the maximum wage rose from ¬£12 to ¬£14 per week. Fittingly with a man who had
dedicated his life to a sport that decreed that his wage be limited he was on the Players Union Committee
at the time Jimmy Hill was abolishing the maximum wage.

Yet Tony says: “I think we went a bit wrong. I’d still like to see a liveable wage for players, plus a lot of
incentives. Players can earn a lot of money now without even playing on Saturdays.

Then there is this business of paying a player when he gets suspended. The club can now pay him 75 per cent
of his wages, so it’s really the club and not the player who suffers”.

One of the changes in the game since he played, he notes that: “The pressures in the game today are so much
greater. It’s no good coming second, you don’t get any medals for coming second”.

How does he feel as an ex-Rangers player as he watches the side at every home game? “Well,” he says honestly,
“We’re all Alf Ramseys really, aren’t we?”

Talking with Tony Ingham, however, you can never get very far away from his present role with the club. He is
almost shy when it comes to talking about his career. There are rumours that he was the original overlapping
full-back. But when it comes to the organisation of the money earning pools he says:

“Just take a good look at the new Stand. It was only made possible by people buying tickets at a shilling a time.
You’d be surprised how shillings can mount up. If we can recruit even more subscribers it shouldn’t be long before
we have one of the best grounds in West London”. And that includes Stamford Bridge.

Ask any player what difference playing at a really well built ground means, and you won’t be slow in competing
for the ¬£1,000 a week prizes with Rangers Pools.’

Tony Ingham holds the club appearance record and apart from successfully running the Pools Department he was
also Club Secretary for a while before becoming a Director in 1981. A function room at Loftus Road was named in
his honour.

[Steve Russell]

And this.....

The Presentation to Tony Ingham on his 50 Years-Service to the R’s

QPR legend, Tony Ingham sadly passed away on this day, aged 85.

Rangers signed Tony from Leeds United on 9th June 1950, for a fee that was said to be approaching £5,000.

Not only does he hold QPR’s appearance record, but he went on to become the Club’s commercial manager.
He was alsothe Rangers secretary for a while and later joined the Board in 1981.

The following story comes from the reserve home programme v Fulham on 11th December 1954:
‘All the way from Starbeck, Yorkshire, last Saturday, came Supporters’ Club member No.538,
Master Leonard Elgie, aged 14.

And being a Yorkshire lad, Leonard’s hero, not surprisingly, is Rangers’ captain Tony Ingham, who hails from
the same area as our young member, and whom Leonard took a delight in watching when Tony was with
Leeds United.

With manager Jack Taylor’s permission, and to the delight of young Len, we took him along to the home
dressing room, where the players were getting ready to do battle with Torquay.

A little awe-struck, Leonard was introduced to our captain, who in turn introduced him to the rest of the
team. In presenting Brian Nicholas, Tony quipped: “This is our goalkeeper for the afternoon Leonard, and
any resemblance you see between him and a real goalie will be entirely imaginary!”

But young Len was quite impressed with our “substitute” goalie and as QPR finished with a good win the
youngster’s happiness was complete, and it’s a sure bet that Leonard will remember his visit to Loftus Road
for a long time to come.”

Then, over forty years later, when I was involved with the LSA, Len joined up and he told me that despite
being ‘Yorkshire’ through and through, he had become a Rangers fan because of his connection with Tony
and he then referred me to what was written about him in the programme.

So, when the subject of honouring Tony on his wonderful 50 years-service to the R’s came up at an LSA meeting,
I put forward Len’s name as the ideal person to make the presentation.

Shortly after it was arranged with the Club that Len would make the presentation to Tony on the pitch prior to a
home game.

I haven’t seen Len for quite some time, but I’m pleased to say that he’s a member of the Indy R’s Facebook group.