Dave Gibson (footballer)

Dave Gibson

Personal information
Full name	David Weddernburn Gibson
Date of birth	23 September 1938 (1938-09-23) (age 73)
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Playing position	Inside left
Youth career
	Livingston United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1956–1962	Hibernian	41	(8)
1962–1970	Leicester City	280	(41)
1970–1972	Aston Villa	19	(1)
1972–1974	Exeter City	71	(3)
Total		411	(53)
National team
1963–1964	Scotland	7	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

David "Dave" (or "Davie") Weddernburn Gibson (born 23 September 1938 in Kirkliston, West Lothian) was a Scottish footballer who played for Livingston United, Hibernian, Leicester City, Aston Villa, Exeter City and the Scotland national team.

Considered to be one of the finest and most skillful players in Leicester's history,^[1][2] he was the playmaker and creative force of the great Leicester side of the 1960s under Matt Gillies, including the "Ice Kings" side that fell just short of winning the double in 1962-63.

He scored in both legs of Leicester's 1964 League Cup final victory and also played in a further 3 cup finals for the club.^[3]

Gibson earnt 7 caps and scored 3 goals for Scotland, including a goal against Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu just 12 months before Spain became European Champions.^[4]

Career

Early career

Gibson, an Inside Forward, was signed by Hibernian from local side Livingston United in 1956. After 6 years with the Edinburgh club he joined English club Leicester City in January 1962 for a fee reported to have been £40,000.

Leicester City

Gibson's joined Leicester while still on national service, so his appearances in 1961-62 season were restricted. He eventually made his debut on 2 March 1962.^[5] However, the following season, Gibson began to form a deadly partnership down the left-flank of Leicester's attack with Mike Stringfellow^[1] and became a key fixture in the Leicester side as they chased the double with the club sitting top of the league with 5 games to go and reaching the FA Cup final, though they eventually fell short in both competitions. Gibson then helped Leicester to victory in the 1964 League Cup final scoring a goal in both legs of the final. He also helped Leicester to the 1965 League Cup final and the 1969 FA Cup Final, though they lost on both occasions.

Late career and retirement

He moved to Aston Villa in September 1970 where he remained for two years before ending his career with Exeter City. He retired in 1974.

He later became a postman before running a residential care centre in Whetstone in Leicestershire.^[3]

International career

Gibson made his debut for Scotland in a 4-1 victory over Austria in front of 94,500 fans at Hampden Park on 4 May 1963 in a game that was abandoned after 79 minutes after the Austrian team's foul tactics caused referee Jim Finney to abandon the game in fear of player safety.^[3][4]

He earnt 7 caps overall, scoring 3 times.

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	13 June 1963	Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid	Spain	2–1	2–6	Friendly
2	3 October 1964	Ninian Park, Cardiff	Wales	2–1	2–3	1965 British Home Championship
3	21 October 1964	Hampden Park, Glasgow	Finland	3-0	3-1	1966 World Cup qualification

Honours

As a player

Leicester City F.C.

• FA Cup runner-up: 1963, 1969
• League Cup winner: 1964, runner-up: 1965

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Dave Smith & Paul Taylor (2010). Of Fossils and Foxes. ISBN 1905411944. 
2. ^ Lymn, Chris (1998). We Love You Leicester! : a popular history of Leicester City. Leicester: CRL. ISBN 0-9534409-0-7. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Leicester City legend David Gibson would love to be playing today thisisleicestershire.com, retrieved, 30 March 2011
4. ^ ^{a b} Scotland - International Matches 1961-1965 rsssf.com, retrieved 20 March 2011
5. ^ Gibson, Dave: The Legends Questionnaire

• Jeffrey, Jim (2005). The Men Who Made Hibernian F.C. since 1946. Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-3091-2. 

External links

• Dave Gibson at scottishfa.co.uk
• Dave Gibson, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database

Persondata
Name	Gibson, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	23 September 1938
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death
Place of death