Richard Davis (footballer)

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Richard Davis
Personal information
Full name Richard Frederick Davis
Date of birth (1943-11-14) 14 November 1943 (age 80)
Place of birth Plymouth, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1]
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
1960–1961 Plymouth Argyle
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1961–1964 Plymouth Argyle 23 (0)
1964–1965 Southampton 1 (0)
1965–1969 Bristol City 8 (0)
1969–1970 Barrow 50 (0)
1973–1976 Falmouth Town 185 (33)
Managerial career
1979–1981 Falmouth Town (player manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Richard Frederick Davis (born 14 November 1943) is an English retired footballer who played as a full-back for various clubs in the 1960s.

Football career[edit]

Plymouth Argyle[edit]

Davis was born in Plymouth, Devon and joined his local club, Plymouth Argyle as a trainee in August 1960, going on to sign as a professional a year later on his 18th birthday.[1] Described as "a strongly built left-back",[1] Davis made his first-team debut in a 3–2 defeat at Derby County on 20 Mar 1963. In his second match, Davis came up against Stanley Matthews of Stoke City,[2] going down to another defeat. Despite being on the losing side in both his opening matches, Davis retained his place for the rest of the season.[3]

He started the 1963–64 season playing six of the first eight games, before losing his place to Wilf Carter. After another five league matches between late-November and mid-January, of which four were defeats, Davis returned to the reserves, with the long-serving Bryce Fulton taking over at left-back.[4] In his two seasons as a professional with Argyle, Davis made a total of 24 appearances.[5]

Southampton[edit]

Davis joined fellow Second Division side Southampton in July 1964.[1] He spent most of his time at The Dell in the reserves and made his solitary first-team appearance away to his former club on 17 February 1965, losing 4–0 as the "Saints" were "outplayed fore and aft" by Argyle, with Mike Trebilcock scoring twice.[6]

Later career[edit]

Davis left Southampton in July 1965 to join Bristol City where he made only eight appearances in a four-year spell before joining Barrow in March 1969 where he made 50 appearances[7] before dropping down to non-league football in the summer of 1970.[1]

He played for Falmouth Town between 1973 and 1976 and had a second spell at the club, from 1979 to 1981, as a player manager.[citation needed] He later assisted Plymouth Argyle in their School of Excellence and was also a physical education teacher in Plymouth for over 20 years.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  2. ^ Green, Quintrell (6 July 2009). "Bryce Fulton". Plymouth Argyle Supporters on the Internet. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  3. ^ "Season's Results 1962–1963". Plymouth Argyle database. Greens on Screen. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  4. ^ "Season's Results 1963–1964". Plymouth Argyle database. Greens on Screen. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Richard Davis". Plymouth Argyle Player Database. Greens on Screen. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  6. ^ Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 80. ISBN 0-9534474-3-X.
  7. ^ Brown, Neil. "Dick Davis". A–Z Player's Database. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  8. ^ In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. p. 501.