Kenneth Davies (20 September 1923 – 14 November 2008) was an English 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 winger in the

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 ...

for Walsall and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Life and career

Davies was born in Doncaster, West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1923. He played junior football along with Billy Woodcock, brother of Bruce who would become British Heavyweight Boxing Champion and continued in the position of centre forward at Oswin Avenue School. He qualified at Doncaster Plant works as a coppersmith working on such legendary engines as The Silver Link, The Flying Scotsman and The Mallard. As war loomed, this would become a reserved occupation, so Davies was never enlisted. He played football for the plant team and after one of the games was approached by

Mark Crook Mark Stanley Crook (29 June 1903 – 1977) was an English professional footballer. An outside right, he played in the Football League for Blackpool, Swindon Town, Wolves, and Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional associ ...

, offering the opportunity to become a professional footballer. He joined Wath Wanderers and spent time at the nursery club before playing for the parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers in wartime football 1944–46. He scored his first goal playing against Aston Villa at Villa Park playing alongside Billy Wright. He moved on to Walsall of the Third Division South ahead of the

1946–47 Football League The 1946–47 season was the 48th completed season of The Football League. This season was the first to feature a full football programme since the 1938–39 campaign. Division placings were the same as in the unfinished 1939–40 Football Leag ...

season for a £600 fee. He scored 5 goals from 28 league appearances over two seasons, and then moved on to another Southern Section club, Brighton & Hove Albion for a £250 fee, where he played 38 league matches over two years, again scoring 5 goals. Together with three Brighton teammates, Eric Lancelotte, Fred Leamon and

Jock Sim John Sim (4 December 1922 – 14 January 2000), known as Jock, Jackie, or Johnny Sim, was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a centre forward or left half in the Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion. Life and career Sim was ...

, he signed for

Chippenham Town Chippenham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club club based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. They are currently members of and play their games at Hardenhuish Park. History The club states it was established in 1873,

in 1950. He helped Chippenham win the 1951–52 Western League title, finish as runners-up three years later, and was still with them in the 1956–57 season. Davies died in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in 2008 at the age of 85.

References

1923 births 2008 deaths Footballers from Doncaster English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Chippenham Town F.C. players English Football League players Western Football League players {{England-footy-forward-1920s-stub