Eric William Charles Davis (26 February 1932 – 24 July 2007) was an English

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 lea ...

who played as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. He made 136 appearances 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

and

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

, scoring 61 goals.

Career

Born in

Stonehouse, Plymouth East Stonehouse was one of three towns that were amalgamated into modern-day Plymouth, in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. West Stonehouse was a village that is within the current Mount Edgcumbe Country Park in Cornwall. It was destroy ...

, he began his career playing

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

while on

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. During this time he also had a trial at

, who he would join later in his career. Davis played for Tavistock Town when he returned to

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and joined

in 1952. Having scored on his debut in March 1953, he was a back-up player to

Maurice Tadman Maurice Roy Tadman (28 June 1921 – 26 November 1994) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. He began his career in non-league football with Bexleyheath & Welling before playing alongside his older brother George at Charlt ...

for two seasons and then played more regularly over the next three. When the club signed Wilf Carter in 1957, Davis was transferred to

, having scored 29 goals in 63 league games. During his time with Scunthorpe, Davis helped the club win the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

in 1958 and scored 20 goals in 40 league appearances. He moved to

in 1959 and scored 11 goals in 31 league games for them. He had a brief stint with

in 1960, scoring once in two league games, before retiring. Davis died in July 2007 at the age of 75. Davis later became player-manager of

Falmouth Town Falmouth Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. They are currently members of the and play at Bickland Park. The club were the first Cornish team to reach the first round proper of the FA ...

, overseeing their

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

run in 1962–63 which saw them reach the first round for the first time.Cornwall's greatest ever side?
The Packet, 1 November 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Eric 1932 births 2007 deaths People from Stonehouse, Plymouth English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Rhyl F.C. players Tavistock A.F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Falmouth Town A.F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Falmouth Town A.F.C. managers Footballers from Plymouth, Devon 20th-century English sportsmen