David Ford (born 2 March 1945) is an English former 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 ...
, who played as a
winger for
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
,
Newcastle United,
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 ...
and
Halifax Town
FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...
. His career lasted from 1965 to 1976 during which time he made 245 league appearances with 15 as substitute and scored 42 goals. He was an attacking right sided player.
Career
Ford was born in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
, he joined Sheffield Wednesday as an 16-year-old in 1961 and made his debut in the 1965–66 season against
Sunderland on 23 October, coming off the bench to become the first ever
substitute used by Wednesday in a League match.
[''"Images of Sport: Sheffield Wednesday"'', Nick Johnson, Tempus Publishing (2003), Details debut and car accident.] He scored his first goal in a 1–0 home league victory over
Fulham on 20 November 1965. Ford's career really took off in the latter stages of that first season when he scored 13 goals in 18 league and cup matches between 5 March and 14 May. His goals helped Wednesday reach the
1966 FA Cup Final
The 1966 FA Cup Final was a football match played on 14 May 1966. It was contested by Everton and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley. Everton were the first team since Bury in 1903 to reach an FA Cup Final without conceding a goal, while Sheffield ...
, he scored in the fifth round victory over
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
and twice in the quarter final win at
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
. Ford's greatest career moment happened in that year's F.A Cup final when he scored after 57 minutes to put Wednesday 2–0 up against
Everton and on the way to victory after their goalkeeper
Gordon West
Gordon West (24 April 1943 – 10 June 2012) was an English professional football goalkeeper. He won three international caps in a career that included a long stint at Everton.
Club career
Blackpool
West played as a defender for Barnsley, D ...
spilled a fierce shot by John Fantham and Ford followed up to slide the ball into the far corner, however Wednesday were defeated as Everton came back to score three times and win the trophy.
[ Owls Archive.](_blank)
Gives details of Sheffield Wednesday career.
David Ford's second season (1966–67) for Wednesday was also a success he finished the season joint top scorer with
John Ritchie with 15 goals. He won two caps for the England Under 23 team during that season playing against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
in an 8–1 win at
Molineux and against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
in a 1–3 defeat at
St James' Park
St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England.
St James' Pa ...
.
[England Football Online](_blank)
Gives details of Under 23 caps.
Tragedy struck during 1967 when he was involved in a serious car accident in which his fiancée was killed.
Ford took a long time to recover from the accident making only 14 appearances during the 1967–68 season and he was eventually sold to Newcastle United in December 1969. Ford made 26 league appearances in his 14-month stay with Newcastle, scoring three goals.
Gives details of Newcastle career. He returned to play in Sheffield in January 1971 when he joined Wednesday's city rivals Sheffield United. He was not a regular in the United side making only 21 league appearances and scoring twice in over two years.
[Sporting Heroes - David Ford.](_blank)
Gives details of Sheffield United career. He moved to Halifax Town in July 1973 and played there for three seasons making 83 league appearances and scoring six goals. He was released by Halifax in May 1976 ending David Ford's professional career.
Ford played for England U23s in two matches.
After retirement
Ford has been running his own plumbing and heating business in Sheffield for many years and he is part owner of the Champs sports bar on Ecclesall road in the city.
Ford appeared on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television football quiz "Quiz Ball" in the winter of 1967 representing Sheffield Wednesday along with fellow player Gerry Young, assistant manager Jack Marshall and celebrity supporter Stan Barstow.
.
David is married with two children and four grandchildren.