Saturday’s home game against Doncaster Rovers will be an emotional one for the Rivers family.
Ron Rivers played for Headington United for three seasons from 1959 before captaining Didcot Town in the Hellenic League. Described by the Oxford Mail as ‘one of the most dangerous inside forwards in the Hellenic League' Ron’s playing career was cut short by a broken leg when he was just 28 but he remained a huge Oxford United fan and attended all of their home games until illness made it too hard to do so.
Sadly Ron passed away on 24th September and his daughter Lorraine wrote in to inform us of his death, enclosing newspaper clippings and photographs from Ron’s time at the club. Ron’s family are not only having to adjust after his death but also have health issues of their own and as a result Oxford United will be making a donation towards the cost of the funeral from the club’s side of the money raised from the half time draw on Saturday. Ron’s family will be at the game and there will be a tribute to their father in the match programme.
Ron’s picture will also appear on the scoreboard on New Year’s Day when we pay tribute to the club’s players, staff and fans who have passed away during 2017.
If you have an Oxford United supporting loved one who passed away this year then let Peter Rhoades-Brown know via email: Rosie@oufc.co.uk