Biography
Inside forward David John “Dave” King was a home-grown product who joined City as an apprentice in 1957 and signed his first professional contract in September 1958. He waited over a year for his first team debut, when it came he made quite an impact as he scored twice in a December 1959 3-1 win at Sunderland. He dropped out of the first team after one more start, perhaps a blessed relief for a young man making his way in the game during a season when City were performing poorly and hurtling towards relegation to Division Three. By the end of March 1960 Bob Brocklebank’s side were all but relegated and King returned to first team action at inside left for the last seven games – the youngster rewarded Brocklebank with 5 goals as the doomed Tigers recovered to win three and draw four matches. Relegated to a lower level, King looked set to make the grade in the first team but he was used only intermittently by Brocklebank in 1960/61 season, preferring new signings Eric McMillan and Dudley Price at inside left. Dave scored at a decent rate when he was chosen, including goals in two consecutive games at the very end of the season.
In the 1961 close season Brocklebank was replaced by new manager Cliff Britton and City started to invest heavily in promising players with a view of returning to the Second Division (and beyond). Despite that change of tack King, who had been placed on the transfer list by Brocklebank, was re-signed by Britton and stayed at City for two more seasons. Dave had to wait until February 1962 for his chance to impress in Britton’s first team and he grasped that opportunity with both hands, scoring seven times in the last 19 games of the season including an impressive April 1962 hattrick against Newport County. Dave began 1962/63 season in his favoured inside left role but was soon replaced by Ray Henderson and then George Cummins and played an occasional support role across City’s forward line. King scored in each of three consecutive games over the Christmas period in 1962, including the only goal of the game in a Boxing Day win over Southend United, but he was again out of the first team by the end of the season.
Dave requested a transfer in February 1963 and in July 1963 he joined Southern League side King’s Lynn. He served the Norfolk side for two seasons before transferring to Midland League side Goole Town in July 1965. He scored prolifically for Goole, netting over 70 times across three seasons and was chosen for a Midland League select XI in April 1967.
In June 1968 King joined Bridlington Town but injury and a loss of form precipitated his release in January 1969. He immediately signed for Midland League rivals Ashby Institute, managed by ex-Tiger colleague Len Sharpe, but rejoined Bridlington Town in July 1969 and returned to goalscoring form. King played for the Yorkshire League side for another two seasons before joining Barton Town in April 1971, and also began playing for the Ex-Tigers XI. He switched to Yorkshire League side Hull Brunswick in January 1972 and became captain of the Sutton Ings side for the 1972/73 season, reverting to the midfield as he approached his mid-30s, but in November 1972 he joined divisional rivals Hatfield Main. A year later in November 1973 King signed for Bridlington Town for the third time and combined his playing duties with studying for a Physical Education degree at Hull University.
In April 1974 Bridlington Town elevated King to assistant manager and when Brid manager John Thompson left the club in April 1976 King was installed as first team manager, a post he combined with teaching duties at Riley High School. King resigned his post in March 1978 to focus on his teaching commitments but by May 1978 he agreed to take over the manager’s role at North Ferriby United, a role he held until July 1983 when he joined the youth development setup at Hull City. It was in this role that King, who was now teaching at Greatfield High School, worked alongside Frank Donoghue throughout the 1980s to set up the Hull City Centre of Excellence programme that eventually morphed into Hull City’s Academy.
As well as his coaching duties, King worked as a school teacher and headmaster for many years. He died in July 2010.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 24 October 1940, Hull
Hull City First Game: 12 December 1959, Sunderland A (Division Two), 19 years, 49 days old
Hull City Final Game: 13 April 1963, Reading H (Division Three), 22 years, 171 days old
Clubs
Hull City (1958-1963), Kings Lynn (1963-1965), Goole Town (1965-1968), Bridlington Town (1968-1969), Ashby Institute (1969), Bridlington Town (1969-1971), Barton Town (1971-1972), Hull Brunswick (1972), Hatfield Main (1972-1973), Bridlington Town (1973-1976)
Hull City Record
Career: 67 apps, 25 goals
Dave King| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958/59 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1959/60 | 9 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1960/61 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 1961/62 | 20 | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1962/63 | 23 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Met Dave King in his house off Chants AVE in 1963. Saw him score goals alongside Chris Chilton. Super player, full of energy. Also managed Kings Lynn I believe. Good memories.