Halesowen Town's unsung hero

National World - LocalTV

An 83-year-old volunteer who’s been chairman, vice president, and lifelong supporter of Halesowen Town shares his story – a life dedicated to keeping grassroots football alive.

Transcript

00:00Out here on Matchday, it's easy to see the love this town has for its club,

00:04but the real story isn't just on the pitch,

00:06it's in the people who've carried the Yelts through generations.

00:10One of them is Ron Moseley.

00:11He's been chairman, vice-president, sponsor

00:15and the man quietly keeping things moving behind the scenes for decades.

00:19His life and the life of this club are intertwined

00:22and it all began with his first steps through these gates.

00:26It goes back a long way, really. I lived within 100 yards of the ground

00:30and obviously being a lad, you'd support howls on your local side,

00:35we don't need kids, we used to come up and watch the games.

00:38So I came along, came on, watched the game, they won.

00:42So that put us in the semi-final.

00:4486, they went back to Wembley again,

00:48topped the league and this time the committee then,

00:51who I had nothing to do with, decided they would level the pitch

00:54and that would hopefully get them into the Southern League.

00:58They did get in promotion to the Southern League,

01:01but the ground was still pretty, pretty awful.

01:04So I decided I put a carpet rug on every coast that went,

01:09raised a fair amount of money.

01:11I sold every square meter of the pitch for a pound of screen,

01:14it raised a lot of money.

01:16And the club then asked me if I would take the commercial role, which I did.

01:22Ron's first steps into the club set the tone for everything that followed,

01:26from helping out where needed to taking on leadership.

01:30His role grew with the years and so did the memories.

01:33Some moments stand out not just for him, but for everyone who's been part of this place.

01:38That's the beauty of grassroots football.

01:40The highs are shared and they last a lifetime.

01:42There's lots, obviously. Winning games, winning cup games.

01:48Probably one of the most memorable moments was when I was made chairman.

01:53And that was like a privilege and quite an accolade, really.

01:57And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

01:58For Ron, the big moments are important, but they're not the whole story.

02:02The real connection is built week in, week out, through the people,

02:06the atmosphere and the sense of belonging that you can't fake.

02:09Clubs like Howe's Owen are stitched into the fabric of community.

02:13And for some, they become part of who you are.

02:16And for Ron, that connection runs deeper than most.

02:19You get your chance to deal with the public, the fans.

02:26It's just something that is, it's deep.

02:30It's really deep.

02:30And I'm blue and white through and through now.

02:34I'll very rarely miss a game.

02:37And you can, it gives you a great sense of achievement to be involved with the club,

02:44which is going places.

02:45It started with nothing.

02:47We were a no club.

02:49We got nothing.

02:50And now we're in the position where we are reckoned with.

02:54And we're a force within the league.

02:56So, yep.

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