Teddy Davison
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | John Edward Davison | ||
Date of birth | 2 September 1887 | ||
Place of birth | Gateshead, England | ||
Date of death | 1 February 1971 | (aged 83)||
Place of death | Sheffield, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Youth career | |||
1903–1908 | Gateshead Town | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1908–1926 | Sheffield Wednesday | 397 | (0) |
1926–1927 | Mansfield Town | ||
Total | 397 | (0) | |
International career | |||
1922 | England | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1926–1928 | Mansfield Town (player-manager) | ||
1928–1932 | Chesterfield | ||
1932–1952 | Sheffield United | ||
1952–1958 | Chesterfield | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
John Edward Davison (2 September 1887 – 1 February 1971) was an English footballer and manager who had a long and successful association with the football clubs of Sheffield, playing for Sheffield Wednesday for 18 years and later managing Sheffield United for 20 years. His fairness and diplomacy earned him the nicknames of "The George Washington of Sheffield football" and "Honest Ted". Davison played as a goalkeeper in a career, which lasted between 1908 and 1926, he made 424 appearances in all competitions for Sheffield Wednesday (his only league club).[2] Davison was only 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall, very small for a goalkeeper, but he made up for this with lightning reflexes and top class anticipation.[3] He has gone down in football records as the smallest goalkeeper ever to play for England,[1] making just one appearance for the national team in March 1922.[4]
Playing career
Davison was born in Gateshead, County Durham, the seventh of nine children. On leaving school he worked as a typesetter for a Newcastle newspaper and played football for Gateshead Town where he was spotted by Sheffield Wednesday's assistant manager Robert Brown who invited him to Hillsborough for a trial. Davison impressed in the trial, saving a penalty in a practice match and was signed in April 1908 as understudy to long standing Wednesday keeper Jack Lyall for a fee of £300.
Sheffield Wednesday
The 21-year-old Davison made his Wednesday debut on 10 October 1908, however he only made eight appearances in that first season, being unable to dislodge Lyall. The summer of 1909 saw Lyall leave for Manchester City and Davison became first choice keeper for the 1909–10 season. Davison was to remain first choice for the next 12 seasons, a remarkable achievement bearing in mind that he lost four years of his career to World War I when official football was suspended. Throughout his career Davison kept a record of every match he played in, this showed he played in 618 games, conceding 810 goals, it also revealed he was a specialist at keeping out penalties, saving 24 out of 77 faced.
Davison volunteered for the army during World War I and was sent to France in July 1916, serving with the Royal Field Artillery for the rest of the war. He did make two wartime appearances for Wednesday when he was home on leave. He returned safely from the war to make 20 appearances in the 1919–20 season as Wednesday were relegated from Division One, sharing goalkeeping duties with Arnold Birch. Davison became first choice keeper again the following season.
He was called up to the England team to face
Management
Mansfield Town
In June 1926 he accepted the offer to become player/manager/secretary of
Chesterfield
Davison was appointed Chesterfield manager on 2 January 1928 at a wage of £6 a week. He immediately reorganised the club making clear divisions between the administrative and playing sides and bringing in experienced players such as Sid Binks. An improvement in results followed culminating in winning the Third Division North championship in 1930–31 with the team securing the championship on the last day of the season, scoring eight goals against Gateshead, Davison's home town club. Davison consolidated Chesterfield's position in Division Two the following season continuing to bring in experienced players such as ex England international George Ashmore, he also established a scouting network in his native north east to bring in young players. Davison had become one of the most talented and well organised managers around and it was no surprise when he was offered the newly created position of secretary/manager at Sheffield United in June 1932 as a replacement for the legendary John Nicholson who had been killed in a traffic accident earlier in the year after being Blades secretary for 33 years.[6]
Sheffield United
Davison's first season at United saw them finish a respectable 10th in Division One, but the next season (1933–34) was a disaster as United were relegated for the first time in their history. The following season had The Blades in a mid table finishing position in Division Two although Davison had made the excellent signing of
Davison remained in charge at Bramall Lane throughout the war years, with the team winning the Football League North in 1945–46. The return to peace time football saw United relegated from Division One in 1948–49 and then denied an immediate return the following season by city rivals Wednesday on goal average. Two mid table finishes and a failure to get a quick return to Division One saw Davison resign as United manager in August 1952.[7]
Return to Chesterfield
Davison was not out of a job for long as he was immediately offered his old job as manager of Chesterfield who had just parted company with
After finally retiring, Teddy spent his latter years in Sheffield, passing away in February 1971 at the age of 83. His legacy is that he probably made the biggest individual impact on Sheffield football of any person in history.[8][9]
Managerial statistics
Team | From | To | Record | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
Mansfield Town | 1926 | 1928 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00 |
Chesterfield | 1 August 1928 | 15 June 1932 | 179 | 84 | 29 | 66 | 46.93 |
Sheffield United | 15 June 1932 | 30 June 1952 | 592 | 248 | 139 | 205 | 41.89 |
Chesterfield | 30 June 1952 | 30 June 1958 | 287 | 133 | 61 | 93 | 46.34 |
Total | 1,060 | 466 | 229 | 365 | 43.96 |
References
- ^ ISBN 1-905009-63-1. According to Betts, Davison "is believed to be the smallest goalkeeper to represent his country, standing just 5' 7" tall. What he lacked in height he more than made up for with his agility and positional sense."
- ^ SWFC Archive. Gives statistics for Sheffield Wednesday career.
- ^ Andrews, Neil (20 May 2015). "In praise of short(er) goalkeepers". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ www.thefa.com. Davison's sole England international and further reference to being England's shortest goalkeeper.
- ^ Official Sheffield Wednesday site, Legends. Gives details of time at Sheffield Wednesday.
- ^ a b Official Chesterfield F.C. site. Gives details of time as manager of Chesterfield.
- ^ Official Sheffield United F.C. site. Archived 9 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine Gives details of time as Sheffield United manager.
- ISBN 0-9547264-9-9Page 83 Gives biographical information and the quote: "...he had made the greatest ever impact on Sheffield soccer".
- ISBN 978-0-7524-4156-6Gives details of Sheffield Wednesday career and biographical information.
External links
- Teddy Davison at Englandstats.com
- Profile at www.englandfc.com