Ronnie Allen

Ronald "Ronnie" Allen (15 January 1929 – 9 June 2001) was an English international football player and manager. He was a professional footballer for nineteen years, between 1946 and 1964, making 638 appearances in the Football League, and scoring 276 goals. He also won five caps for England national team. He later became a manager at clubs in England, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. His son, Russell, also played professional football throughout the 1970s.

Starting his career in 1946 with Port Vale, he spent four years with the club, before making a record breaking transfer to West Bromwich Albion. He was one of the best strikers of the 1950s, playing over 400 games, with a ratio of a goal every two games. He lifted the FA Cup in 1954, and helped the club to the FA Charity Shield in 1954, and a second-place finish in the First Division in 1953–54. In 1961 he signed with Crystal Palace, where he spent the final four years of his playing career. He helped Palace win promotion out of the Third Division in 1963–64.

Ronnie Allen (pool player)

Ronnie Monroe "Fast Eddie" Allen (July 12, 1938 – February 6, 2013) was labeled as a pool "super star" in the prime of his pool-shooting career by his peers during pool's golden era. He was an American professional pool player.

For several decades from the 1960s to 1980s, Allen was the most dominant one pocket player in the world. He was inducted into the One Pocket Hall of Fame in 2004 for his contributions to the pocket billiard game of one pocket.

Allen's gift of gab often lured crowds to congregate around his table. He was a well-known gambler who enjoyed entertaining the crowds. Some believe that Walter Tevis, who wrote the book The Hustler that later became an Academy Award-winning film, based the character of "Fast Eddie" on Ronnie Allen after seeing him compete. Minnesota Fats said of Ronnie Allen, "Anybody who plays him for money ain't got no chance at all."

Early days

Born in Danville, Illinois, Ronnie Allen was there only a week, when his family had to move. His father was part-owner of a carnival, and the entire family, who worked at the carnival, moved every week to a new town.