By Martin Shaw and Rob Stewart

Tributes have been paid to legendary former Huddersfield Town and Emley groundsman Raymond Chappell who has died aged 93.

Raymond was a renowned character who fiercely guarded his pitches to keep them pristine for matchdays.

Woe betide anyone who ignored his ‘Keep Off The Grass’ signs – even the club chairman or a family given permission to scatter the ashes of a loved one on the hallowed turf!

Such was his determination he once painted goalposts BLUE to ensure a game at snow-bound Leeds Road got the go ahead.

A man of few words, Raymond had a big say in Town’s success on the field in the 1980s and has been described as a club legend and “one of Town’s unsung heroes.”

Flockton-born Raymond, a joiner by trade, was in charge of the pitch at Town’s Leeds Road ground from 1978 and then made the move to the John Smith’s Stadium in 1994 before retiring in 1999.

Before that he was on the committee at Emley from around 1971-1982 and took on the role of groundsman in the mid-70s.

After he retired from the John Smith’s Stadium, the lure of the turf brought him back to Emley and he became groundsman again in 2005 looking after the pitch for around a decade. He later became a life member of the club in recognition of his contribution.

 

 

Former Town manager Mick Buxton described Raymond as “one of Town’s unsung heroes” and said he played a key role in the club’s success during their time at Leeds Road.

“Raymond is one of those people who have made Huddersfield Town a football club that the town can be proud of,” said Mick.

“When I first arrived at the club our pitch was in a terrible state with hardly any grass in sight after winter but the way he turned things around was crucial to our success.

“Without much fanfare, he produced a fantastic playing surface which allowed our team to play the fantastic attacking football I’d wanted us to play like we did at Burnley when I was a player.

“And Raymond’s pristine pitch not only saw us move up the leagues but also attracted fans back to Leeds Road after we’d been in the doldrums in the mid-70s.”

Raymond set the stage for Mick to mastermind Town’s 1980 Division 4 title success and the Division 3 promotion campaign two years later.

“Ray got on with his job without much fuss at all – unless you stepped on to the Leeds Road playing surface,” Mick recalled.

“I was the only person allowed on to the field before a match and woe betide anyone who wandered onto the hallowed turf!

“He’d come out of nowhere and shout ‘get off my pitch’ to anyone who ignored the ‘keep off the pitch’ signs – and that once included a group of people who were at Leeds Road to spread the ashes of a loved one!

“Raymond was very much a Town fan as well but he always just focused on his job rather than mixing with the players.

“I know he put a lot of hard work into rejuvenating the club and we were always full of praise for his expertise and professionalism.

“But he’d always just shrug that off and crack on with his work in a quiet, unassuming way. He will be sadly missed but he’ll always have a place in club folklore.”

 

 

Mick also recalled Raymond’s determination never to be beaten by the weather.

“Most people won’t know that when a game was under threat because of snow, he painted one set of our goalposts blue to get the game on,” said Mick.

“The referee deemed the pitch playable but said we’d need to do something about the goal in front of the open end where snowed was piled high.

“To avoid disappointing our fans, Raymond agreed to paint the goal a temporary, washable blue so we could go ahead but then the ref changed his tune and Ray turned the air blue before washing it all off and the game got the go-ahead!”

In his recently-published autobiography ‘Ahead Of The Curve’, former Town director Graham Leslie recalled a run-in with Raymond just before he took over as chairman.

Graham wrote: “It’s clear head groundsman Ray Chappell loved his pitch with a passion to such an extent no-one was allowed on it – not even the players.

“He’d banned them from training on it so, in effect, playing at home was like playing away for them, especially new players.

“I once organised a training session on the pitch and Ray was so incensed he phoned the chairman to order me off!

“That had to change as the pitch at Town was convex so it was quite raised in the middle. This meant that when (manager) Eoin Hand peered from his dugout, he couldn’t see part of his players’ legs on the other side of the pitch.

“It also meant it was vital for them to train on the pitch to get used to the curve and turn it to their advantage over the opposition.

“In the end Ray had to reluctantly agree to the team training on it twice a week, especially when I started to pay the bills to hold the bank off calling in personal guarantees from other board members.” Buy Graham’s book HERE.

Graham told Huddersfield Hub: “When I first joined Town in 1989 I found Ray totally dedicated to the Leeds Road pitch, so much so he called it his ‘front lawn.’

“Nobody was allowed to practice on it and I once had a kickabout at the Cowshed end with a couple of players one lunchtime and Ray phoned the chairman Keith Longbottom to order me off! What a character and I send my condolences to his family.”

 

The Emley committee in 1982. Raymond Chappell is pictured fourth right – and he was certainly forthright when it came to his pitch!

 

Former Huddersfield Examiner Town reporter and sports editor, Mel Booth, has also paid tribute and said: “Ray was a great character and a brilliant groundsman, in my opinion easily the best in the Football League.

“Before he came along, the pitch at Leeds Road was often muddy and covered in sand, but he soon had it in pristine condition, something which Mick Buxton has acknowledged helped his team play the exciting attacking football which won two promotions.

“Right from the word go, Ray made me very welcome at the club and we chatted a lot about what was happening with Town, the pitch and sport in general around Huddersfield.

“He loved doing the pitch at Emley and, of course, he was an outstanding cricket curator, with many clubs using his expertise.

“He kindly came and helped at Scholes Cricket Club when we needed assistance and, when I moved home, he generously offered to landscape and lay our lawns.

“As long as you stayed off his pitches, he would do anything for anyone and he was the sort of person you valued in your life. He will be sadly missed, a true legend of Huddersfield Town.”

Andrew Painten, current chairman at Emley AFC, hailed Raymond as a “true character” who helped build the foundations for the club that Emley is today.

 

 

“Raymond was much loved by everyone at the club,” he said. “He was a man of few words and even fewer compliments!

“His pitch was very precious and there will have been a few people he crossed swords with about his pitch both at Town and at Emley.

“He protected it fiercely but he just wanted the best possible playing surface for the first team. He was a force to be reckoned with in that respect.

“He paid a massive compliment to me and vice-chairman Marcus Pound, who is the current groundsman, when he walked in one day.

“Normally he’d have something to point out but he took us to one side and said: ‘This place looks brilliant’ and that meant a lot from a man who doesn’t give out praise easily.

“He’ll be sadly missed and our condolences go to his family and friends.”

Raymond, who was married to Rita, leaves a daughter Lisa. His son-in-law Robert Ellis, also a renowned groundsman, started out working with Raymond at Leeds Road and later went on to the John Smith’s Stadium. Robert is pictured above with Raymond.