Geoff Davies (footballer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Geoffrey Peter Davies[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1 July 1947[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Ellesmere Port, England[1] | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1972 | Wigan Athletic | 76 | (52) |
| 1972–1973 | Chester | 32 | (5) |
| 1973–1975 | Wrexham | 67 | (15) |
| 1975–1976 | Boston Minutemen | 29 | (10) |
| 1976 | Chicago Sting | 5 | (4) |
| 1976–77 | Port Vale | 7 | (0) |
| 1976 | → Hartlepool United (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 1977 | San Jose Earthquakes | 24 | (5) |
| 1977–1978 | Wimbledon | 23 | (1) |
| 1978–1979 | Los Angeles Skyhawks | 24 | (6) |
| 1980–1981 | San Francisco Fog (indoor) | 13 | (4) |
| Total | 305 | (103) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Geoffrey Peter "Geoff" Davies (born 1 July 1947) is an English former professional footballer who played in the United Kingdom and the United States as a midfielder.
He began his career with Wigan Athletic, winning the Northern Premier League title in 1970–71, before joining Chester in 1972. The next year he transferred to Wrexham, before he departed the Football League for the Boston Minutemen in 1975. He moved on to the Chicago Sting the following year, and then returned to England to play for Port Vale and Hartlepool United. He spent 1977 in both the States and England, playing for the San Jose Earthquakes, before signing with Wimbledon. He joined the Los Angeles Skyhawks in 1978, and had a brief spell with the San Francisco Fog in 1980.
Playing career
Davies began his career in English non-league football with Northern Premier League side Wigan Athletic. In 1970–71, he helped the "Latics" win the league title, scoring a total of 42 goals in all competitions, including seven hat-tricks.[2] He spent two seasons with Wigan, finishing as the club's top scorer on both occasions, before turning professional and joining Chester in 1972. Davies made a total of 32 Fourth Division appearances for Chester in 1972–73, scoring five goals.[3] He moved to Wrexham a season later, and made a total of 67 league appearances – scoring 15 goals – between 1973 and 1975.[4] John Neal's "Dragons" finished one place and five points shy of promotion out of the Third Division in 1973–74, before dropping to 13th in 1974–75.
Davies then moved to the United States to play in the NASL with the Boston Minutemen, scoring six goals in 17 games in 1975, as the Minutemen finished top of the Northern Division only to lose 2–1 to the Miami Toros in the play-off quarter-finals.[5] He scored four goals in 12 games in 1976, as this time his side finished bottom of the division.[5] Davies moved onto league rivals the Chicago Sting before the end of the season, scoring four goals in five games, as the Sting topped the division only to lose 3–2 to the Toronto Metros-Croatia in the Conference semi-finals.[5]
Davies returned to England in 1976, and made seven league appearances for Roy Sproson's Port Vale, and five on loan at Hartlepool United.[6][7] His contract with the Vale was cancelled by mutual consent in January 1977.[1] He spent 1977 with the San Jose Earthquakes, scoring five goals in 24 games, as his team were beaten 2–1 by the Los Angeles Aztecs in the first round of the play-offs.[5] Davies then signed for Wimbledon for the 1977–78 season, where he made 23 league appearances for the Football League newcomers.[8]
He returned to the United States to sign with the Los Angeles Skyhawks for the 1978 American Soccer League campaign, and scored six goals in 24 games as the Skyhawks reached the Conference finals, where they were beaten 1–0 by New York Apollo.[5] He was a coach at the club in 1979. He played the 1980–81 Major Indoor Soccer League season with the San Francisco Fog, the club's only ever season of football; he scored four goals in 13 games.[5]
Statistics
- Sourced from Geoff Davies profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
| Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Chester | 1972–73 | Fourth Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973–74 | Fourth Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 5 | ||
| Wrexham | 1973–74 | Third Division | 25 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 7 |
| 1974–75 | Third Division | 33 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 10 | |
| 1975–76 | Third Division | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| Total | 67 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 80 | 18 | ||
| Boston Minutemen | 1975 | NASL | 17 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 17 | 6 |
| 1976 | NASL | 12 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 4 | |
| Total | 29 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 10 | ||
| Chicago Sting | 1976 | NASL | 5 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 5 | 4 |
| Port Vale | 1976–77 | Third Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Hartlepool United (loan) | 1976–77 | Fourth Division | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1977 | NASL | 24 | 5 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 5 |
| Wimbledon | 1977–78 | Fourth Division | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Skyhawks | 1978 | ASL | 24 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 24 | 6 |
| San Francisco Fog | 1980–81 (indoor) | NASL | 13 | 4 | – | – | – | – | 13 | 4 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 78. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ↑ Hayes, Dean (1996). The Latics: The Official History of Wigan Athletic F.C. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 22. ISBN 1-874427-91-7.
- ↑ "CHESTER CITY : 1946/47 - 1999/2000 & 2004/05 - 2007/08". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ↑ "WREXHAM : 1946/47 - 2007/08". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "North American Soccer League Players". nasljerseys.com. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
- ↑ "PORT VALE : 1946/47 - 2007/08". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ↑ "HARTLEPOOL UNITED : 1946/47 - 2007/08". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
- ↑ "MILTON KEYNES DONS : 1977/78 - 2007/08; (formerly known as WIMBLEDON)". Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Transfer Database. Retrieved 9 April 2009.