Jimmy Davis (footballer)

Football player infobox
playername = Jimmy Davis


fullname = James Roger William Davis
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date|1982|2|6
cityofbirth = Bromsgrove
countryofbirth = England
dateofdeath = death date and age|2003|8|9|1982|2|6
cityofdeath = Oxfordshire
countryofdeath = England
position = Winger
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1999–2003
2001
2002
2003
clubs = Manchester United
→ Royal Antwerp (loan)
→ Swindon Town (loan)
→ Watford (loan)
caps(goals) = 00 (0)
07 (0)
13 (2)
00 (0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =

James Roger William "Jimmy" Davis (February 6, 1982 - August 9, 2003) was a footballer who played for Manchester United, Swindon Town and Watford, as well as the England youth teams, who was killed in a car crash on the M40 in Oxfordshire on 9 August 2003, aged 21, when twice over the drink-drive limit.

Career

Davis was born in Bromsgrove and started playing football at a young age. He was educated at Arrow Vale High School from 1995 to 1998. He joined Manchester United as a trainee in July 1999 and turned professional at the end of the following month. In January 2001, he was sent on loan to Royal Antwerp FC for four months where he only played in four games, all as a substitute. He made his only first-team appearance for United in the Worthington Cup Third Round defeat against Arsenal at Highbury on 5 November, 2001. United lost this game 4-0.

Davis was loaned to Swindon for three months in the 2002-03 season, making 15 appearances for the Division Two side, scoring three goals, although it was not enough to bring anything better than a mid-table finish for Andy King's side. Davis was keen on accepting an offer to extend his deal, but United manager Alex Ferguson recalled him. His last game for Swindon Town was on 9 November 2002. After returning to Old Trafford, he was on the bench for United's UEFA Champions League tie away to Deportivo La Coruna just before the end of 2001-02. He then joined Watford on a season's loan in August 2003.

Death

Davis was killed in a car crash on the M40 motorway in the early hours of August 9, 2003. He crashed his BMW into a truck and was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver suffered minor injuries. The accident occurred just hours before Watford were due to open their season with a match against Coventry City. The Watford board of directors announced later that morning that the match was postponed due to "tragic circumstances beyond their control", though they did not announce Davis's death for another few hours. His funeral took place at Redditch Crematorium, with the Manchester United team in attendance. [cite news | url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-12740453,00.html | title=Stars Pay Respect To Jimmy Davis | publisher=Sky News | date=23 August 2003 | accessdate=2008-02-11]

The subsequent inquest reported that Davis was more than twice over the legal drink-drive limit and it was believed that he had been driving at speeds of up to 120mph when losing control of his car.cite news | url=http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/83/83016_crash_death_footballer_twice_drink_drive_limit.html | title=Crash death footballer twice drink drive limit | publisher=Manchester Evening News | date=3 March 2004 | accessdate=2007-07-01] The inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3529553.stm | title=Under-21 United star over limit | work=BBC News ]

A few days after his death, Swindon marked their 4-0 win over Notts County to the young player, with Davis's mother making a speech in front of the Swindon fans before the kick-off. Additionally, Swindon Town took part in a memorial match with his local club Redditch United; Swindon won 2-1 with Sam Parkin scoring the goals. Manchester United also paid tribute to him after their victory in the 2004 FA Cup Final, when after the final whistle and before the presentation they changed into jerseys printed with Davis's name and squad number (36) on the back. [cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/3739335.stm | title=Players remember Davis | publisher=BBC | date=22 May 2004 | accessdate=2007-07-01]

References

Persondata
NAME=Davis, James Roger William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Davis, Jimmy
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Football (soccer) player
DATE OF BIRTH=February 6 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH=Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England
DATE OF DEATH=August 9, 2003
PLACE OF DEATH=Oxfordshire, England