Dave Maxwell Edwards (13 June 1900 – 17 June 1946) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

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 ...

who played professionally in both Scotland and the United States during the early 20th century.

Playing career

Edwards began his career in Scotland. Having kept goal for

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). G ...

in 1919 when they won the

Scottish Junior Cup The Scottish Junior Cup is an annual football competition organised by the Scottish Junior Football Association. The competition has been held every year since the inception of the SJFA in 1886 and, as of the 2022–23 edition, 108 teams compete ...

, he moved up to the senior leagues with

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, quickly displaced the long-serving Jock Bradford, and was well-established as the

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

club when they won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

. On 23 August 1926, Edwards signed with

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

of the American Soccer League. He played a total of 76 league games with Bethlehem from 1926 until the team was suspended by the ASL five games into the 1928–1929 season as part of the "Soccer Wars". At that time, Bethlehem moved to the

Eastern Soccer League Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

. Edwards' stats for that league are unknown, but at some point during the season, he left Bethlehem Steel and transferred to the

New Bedford Whalers New Bedford Whalers was the name of three American soccer teams based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first Whalers played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. The second Whalers played in the American Soccer League ...

of the ASL. In 1929, he moved west to

Holley Carburetor Holley Performance Products is an automobile, automotive performance company based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded in 1896 in Bradford, Pennsylvania by George Holley and Earl Holley. When the company was based in Michigan it was a major ...

in the Detroit League. In 1930 Edwards returned to Scotland, beginning the 1930–31 season with Morton. In February 1931, he transferred to

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

. After spending a season minding the net for Cowden, he enjoyed two final seasons in the seniors with

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

(and a short time with

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

where his contract was cancelled before he played a match).

Post-football career

Following his retirement, he was a wicketkeeper/batsman with Cowdenbeath Cricket Club and ran the refreshment stall behind the stand at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. In 1945, he was a member of the 6-man committee of the Cowdenbeath Football Trust which succeeded in reviving Cowdenbeath FC after the war. Dave was a constructional engineer and was employed at

Burntisland Burntisland ( , sco, also Bruntisland) is a former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 6,269. It was previously known as Wester Kingho ...

Shipyard. During the War, he had been a Special Constable. He died at age 46 at his home in Primmer Place, Cowdenbeath in 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Dave (Scottish footballer) Men's association football goalkeepers Scottish men's footballers Scottish expatriate men's footballers American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players Cowdenbeath F.C. players Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. players Holley Carburetor F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) players Greenock Morton F.C. players New Bedford Whalers players British special constables 1900 births 1946 deaths Arbroath F.C. players Brechin City F.C. players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players Footballers from Glasgow People from Partick