Ralph James Evans Birkett (9 January 1913 – 8 July 2002) was an English professional footballer who played once for the England national team.
In 1933, after 95 league games in which he scored 19 times for Torquay, Birkett moved to Arsenal for a fee of £1,588, joining the Highbury side during one of the most impressive periods in their history.
His First Division debut came on 2 September 1933 against Sheffield Wednesday, at Hillsborough,[2] and initially he established himself in the team, winning a League Championship medal in his first season at the club (1933-34) as well as the 1933 FA Charity Shield.
[3] The following season he struggled to make the first team, after an initially bright start; he scored twice in Arsenal's 1934 Charity Shield win, 3-0 over Everton.
In July 1938, he moved to Newcastle United, but the war intervened and cut short his career — he was only 26 when it began, but was 33 by the time league football resumed.