David Wedderburn Gibson (born 23 September 1938 in

Kirkliston Kirkliston is a small town and parish to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, historically within the county of West Lothian but now within the City of Edinburgh council limits. It lies on high ground immediately north of a northward loop of the Al ...

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

) is a former Scottish

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 for Livingston United, Hibernian,

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

and the Scotland national team. Considered to be one of the finest and most skilful players in Leicester's history, he was the playmaker and creative force of the great ''Foxes'' side of the 1960s under

Matt Gillies Matthew Muirhead Gillies (12 August 1921 – 24 December 1998) was a Scottish football player and manager who played for, captained, coached and managed Leicester City for a total of 15 years between 1952–1955 and 1956–1968. He is the club's ...

, including the "

Ice Kings ''Ice Kings'' is a documentary film by Craig E. Shapiro. The film chronicles Mount Saint Charles Academy Ice hockey team's historic streak of 26 consecutive state titles. Synopsis ''Ice Kings'' is a 2006 documentary film that was produced, wri ...

" side that fell just short of winning the 'double' in 1962–63. He scored in both legs of Leicester's 1964 League Cup final victory and also played in a further three cup finals for the club.Leicester City legend David Gibson would love to be playing today
thisisleicestershire.com, retrieved, 24 October 2013 Gibson earned seven caps and scored three times for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, including a goal against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

at the Santiago Bernabéu 12 months before Spain became European Champions.Scotland – International Matches 1961–1965
rsssf.org, retrieved 20 March 2011

Career

Early career

Gibson, an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, was signed by Hibernian from local

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

side Livingston United in 1956. Gibson had grown up as a fan of their

Edinburgh derby The Edinburgh derby is an informal title given to any football match played between Scottish clubs Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) and Hibernian (Hibs), the two oldest professional clubs based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The two clubs have a fierce r ...

rivals Hearts, but was offered a better deal by Hibernian. He made his debut for Hibs alongside four of the Famous Five forward line, replacing

Bobby Johnstone Robert Johnstone (7 September 1929 – 22 August 2001) was a Scottish footballer, who played for Selkirk, Hibernian, Manchester City, Oldham Athletic and Witton Albion. Johnstone also represented Scotland and the Scottish League. Johnstone ...

. After six years with the

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

club he joined

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

club Leicester City in January 1962 for a fee reported to have been £40,000.

Leicester City

Gibson's joined Leicester while still on national service, so his appearances in 1961–62 season were restricted. He eventually made his debut on 2 March 1962. However, the following season, Gibson began to form a deadly partnership down the left-flank of Leicester's attack with

Mike Stringfellow Michael David Stringfellow (born 27 January 1943 in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire) is an English retired footballer who played 14 seasons as a winger for Leicester City in the 1960s and 1970s. He is the uncle of fellow footballer Ian Stri ...

and became a key fixture in the Leicester side as they chased the double with the club sitting top of the league with 5 games to go and reaching the FA Cup Final, though they eventually fell short in both competitions. Gibson then helped Leicester to victory in the 1964 League Cup final scoring a goal in both legs of the final. He also helped Leicester to the 1965 League Cup final and the 1969 FA Cup Final, though they lost on both occasions.

Late career and retirement

He moved to

in September 1970 where he remained for two years before ending his career with

. He retired in 1974. He later became a postman before running a residential care centre in Whetstone in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

International career

Gibson made his debut for

in a 4–1 victory over

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in front of 94,500 fans at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

on 4 May 1963 in a game that was abandoned after 79 minutes after the Austrian team's foul tactics caused referee Jim Finney to abandon the game in fear of player safety. Gibson played well enough to retain his place, in the absence of Spurs player John White, for end of season

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

es against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

. His first international goal came in a famous 6–2 victory against Spain in the Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid. He earned 7 caps overall, scoring 3 times.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.''

Honours

Leicester City *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

runner-up:

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

winner:

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

**Runner-up:

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

References

External links

* *
Profile and stats
at FoxesTalk {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Dave 1938 births Living people Footballers from Edinburgh Footballers from West Lothian Men's association football forwards Scottish footballers Scotland men's international footballers Hibernian F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Livingston United F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players English Football League players FA Cup final players