David Charles Davies (1879 – 13 September 1956) was a Welsh

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 at

outside-left 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 ...

for various minor sides around the turn of the twentieth century as well as making two appearances for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Football career

Davies was born in

Talgarth Talgarth is a market town, community and electoral ward in southern Powys, Mid Wales, about north of Crickhowell, north-east of Brecon and south-east of Builth Wells. Notable buildings in the town include the 14th-century parish church and a ...

, Breconshire and started his football career with the local village side before moving to the larger towns of

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of ...

and Brecon where he earned a reputation as a "star forward", being described in one report as "a very reliable forward, quick in his movements, accurate in his passes and deadly at goal". His form for Brecon earned him his first cap for

in a 1–0 defeat against Ireland at

Grosvenor Park, Belfast Lisburn Distillery Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club who are based in Ballyskeagh, County Down. A founder member of the Irish League, they currently play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the third tier of the ...

on 4 March 1899. In the summer of 1899, he was offered professional terms by both the clubs then operating in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

, just across the border in England. He rejected the offer from Hereford Thistle (who were to fold later that summer) and signed with Hereford Town, then playing in the Birmingham & District League. Davies injured his knee in his first league match for Hereford, against

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, which was to eventually end his career. He made his second international appearance on 24 February 1900 when the Welsh defeated the Irish 2–0 at The Oval,

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

. Despite several comeback attempts, the knee injury forced Davies to retire in October 1900. In 1908, he had recovered sufficiently to enable him to turn out occasionally for his village team.

Life outside football

Davies was employed by the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

for many years and was awarded the Imperial Service Medal for long service.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, David 1879 births 1956 deaths Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Hereford Town F.C. players Men's association football forwards People from Brecknockshire Footballers from Powys