Dai Davies (footballer Born 1948)
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William David Davies (1 April 1948 – 10 February 2021) was a Welsh professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
, who played as a
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
between 1969 and 1987. He made 52 appearances for the Wales national team and played for Everton,
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
(twice),
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
and at Swansea City (three spells).


Background

Born William David Davies in Glanamman in the
Amman valley Amman Valley may refer to: *The valley of the River Amman * Amman Valley Hospital *Amman Valley Railway The Amman Valley Railway Society ( cy, Rheilffordd Dyffryn Aman) is situated near the former Gwaun Cae Gurwen branch line, that runs alongsid ...
on 1 April 1948, his nickname, " Dai", is a Welsh
diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
of Dafydd or David. His father was an amateur footballer, who had trials with
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
and
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
. Davies attended Amman Valley Grammar School,
Ammanford Ammanford ( cy, Rhydaman) is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with a population of 5,411 at the 2011 census. It is a former coal mining town. The built-up area had a population of 7,945 with the wider urban area even bigger. Acco ...
, where he was often known affectionately as "Dai Dai". He showed ability as a
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
from an extremely early age, being picked for the village under-18 team when only 12 years old, and playing for nearby Ammanford Town's adult team at just 15. In school, Davies played both football and
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
, appearing for West Wales School in the Second Row, alongside such Welsh rugby greats as
Paul Ringer Paul Ringer (born 28 January 1948) is an English-born former Welsh dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer. He played representative level rugby union for Wales and at club level for Ebbw Vale RFC, Llanell ...
, Barry Llewelyn, Peter Nicholas and Selwyn Williams. He finished playing rugby when the local football club he played for, Ammanford United, lost 4–0, with Davies being at fault for all four goals, after playing a full rugby match a few hours earlier. Davies played schoolboy and youth football with local clubs (Ammanford United, and then Ammanford Town) – football was not played at the local grammar school – before becoming a professional footballer at the age of 21, in 1969, after qualifying as a
PE teacher Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
. He signed for Swansea Town immediately after leaving training college, as Swansea Town were offering him £17.50 a week, while a teacher's salary at that time was just £14 a week.


Footballing career

The Swansea youth team (which also featured
Giorgio Chinaglia Giorgio Chinaglia (; 24 January 1947 – 1 April 2012) was an Italian footballer who played as a striker. He grew up and played his early football in Cardiff, Wales, and began his career with Swansea Town in 1964. He later returned to Italy to ...
) had an excellent run in the English Youth Cup, losing to
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
' youth team in the fourth round. Davies was spotted by an Everton scout and, after just over a year at Third Division Swansea City, Davies signed for First Division Everton, then Football League champions, in December 1970 for £40,000. He played for Everton for seven seasons. In 1977, Davies moved to
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
, and in his first season with the club, Wrexham experienced their lowest number of defeats in a season on their way to winning the
Football League Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the ...
title. In 1981, he returned to play for Swansea, and then in 1983 he joined
Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...
as player-coach. Davies then retired, before returning to play for
Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...
in the
1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Dynamo Kyiv in the final against Atlético Madrid. It was their second title in the competition, and first since 1975. Reigning champions Everton, who initially qualified for the European Cup i ...
. He then returned to Wrexham and won a
Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...
medal in 1985–86, but did not play in any further
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
games for them. Davies played 199 games in total for Wrexham, conceding a total of 210 goals (an average of 1.06 goals a game), and kept 63 'clean sheets'. Davies made his Welsh international debut on 16 April 1975 against
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, and went on to miss just 6 of the next 57 Wales matches to finish with a total of 52 caps. He received 28 of his caps while playing for Wrexham. His last appearance for Wales came against
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on 2 June 1982.


After retirement from football

Davies's autobiography was published first in Welsh, where it bore the title ''Hanner Cystal a' Nhad'' ('Half as Good as My Father') in tribute to his father. It was later published in an English translation in 1986, by when its title had become 'Never Say Dai', a
pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
. Davies was a part-owner of a Welsh book and craft shop (''Siop y Siswrn'') in
Mold, Flintshire Mold ( cy, Yr Wyddgrug) is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the county town and administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 UK Census, it had ...
, and was a football commentator on S4C, in both English and
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
. Still a qualified teacher, he often worked as a supply teacher and spent a time in 1990 working as a PE teacher for
Holywell High School Ysgol Treffynnon (formerly Holywell High School) is an 11–16 Mixed-sex education, mixed, English-medium education, English-medium, Community school (England and Wales), community secondary school in Holywell, Flintshire, Holywell, Flintshire, ...
and Argoed High School. He ran a natural healing centre in
Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beau ...
, North Wales, specialising in herbal remedies, remedial massage, muscle work,
pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, especially in countries suc ...
and
reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine. Reiki practitioners use a technique called ''palm healing'' or ''hands-on healing'' through which a " universal energy" is said to be transferred through the palms of the ...
. In November 2008, he sold more than 30 items at
Bonhams Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house and one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. It was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. This brought to ...
auctioneers in Chester, with the highest-priced item – a 1980–81 full Welsh international cap – fetching £1,200. A 1982–83 full Welsh international cap sold for £1,140, and a swapped Scotland shirt worn by
Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
sold for £1,020. Davies was also a
Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
, having been initiated into the Welsh Gorsedd of
Bards In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
(''Gorsedd y Beirdd Ynys Prydain'') in 1978. In August 2020, Davies was diagnosed with terminal
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
. In February 2021, The Everton Former Players Foundation confirmed that Davies had died at the age of 72.


References

*''Hanner Cystal a' Nhad'' ('Half the Man my Father Was') – The autobiography of Wales goalkeeper Dai Davies (Published by Siop y Siswrn,
Mold, Flintshire Mold ( cy, Yr Wyddgrug) is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the county town and administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 UK Census, it had ...
, 1984) *''Never Say Dai'' – English translation of ''Hanner Cystal a' Nhad'', translated by Iorweth Roberts (Published by Siop y Siswrn,
Mold, Flintshire Mold ( cy, Yr Wyddgrug) is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the county town and administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 UK Census, it had ...
, 1986)


External links


Dai Davies fan site
– includes the first 3 chapters of his autobiography {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Dai 1948 births 2021 deaths Association football goalkeepers Welsh-language television presenters Wrexham A.F.C. players Everton F.C. players Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Wales international footballers Wales under-23 international footballers Welsh footballers Sportspeople from Carmarthenshire People from Glanamman Bangor City F.C. players English Football League players Deaths from pancreatic cancer