Biography
Talented full back Donald Thomas Beardsley was born in Alyth, a small town 12 miles north of Dundee, and was raised in Scotland, Kenya, Gibraltar, Liverpool and the Isle of Wight before his Army father settled in Hull. The teenage Beardsley was prominent in the Hull Schoolboy football scene and signed apprentice terms with Hull City in 1962, turning professional in 1964. He was not involved in the famous 1965/66 Division Three promotion season, but made his debut in the Second Division in September 1966 when stalwart defender Andy Davidson was unavailable. By the end of 1966 Beardsley had made eight appearances, but had to wait until September 1967 for his next first team game.
He remained an occasional replacement for the injured and absent in 1967/68 but at the start of 1968/69 season Beardsley was elevated to first choice left back, while also occasionally filling in on the right side of defence. He missed only one of the first 39 games that season but a ruptured thigh muscle suffered at the end of March 1969, at a time when he was attracting interest amongst scouts for the Scotland international, kept Don out of the side for seven months. When he returned in October 1969 the interest from Scotland had passed but he was again a City first team regular, missing only three of the next 48 games that stretched to November 1970 and included the Watney Cup Final against Manchester United. He was an irregular choice for the next two years, returning as a first team regular in October 1972 before dropping out of the side again in early April 1973, which proved to be his last match for the Tigers.
In the summer of 1973 Beardsley joined Humber rivals Grimsby Town. In two seasons at Blundell Park he played over 70 times, however in 1975 he decided to withdraw from the professional game. After a short spell playing for Louth United, Beardsley started a second career as an estate agent, a job he did for 30 years before retiring in his North Lincolnshire home.
Details
Nationality: Scotland
Date/Place of Birth: 23 October 1946, Alyth
Hull City First Game: 7 September 1966, Portsmouth A (Division Two), 19 years, 319 days old
Hull City Final Game: 7 April 1973, Aston Villa H (Division Two), 26 years, 166 days old
Clubs
Hull City (1964-1973), Doncaster Rovers (1972, loan), Grimsby Town (1973-1975), Louth United
Hull City Record
Career: 143 apps, 0 goals
Don BeardsleySeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1964/65 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1965/66 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1966/67 | 7 (1) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1967/68 | 3 (1) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1968/69 | 35 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - |
1969/70 | 26 (0) | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1970/71 | 26 (0) | 0 | - | - | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | 1 (0) | 0 |
1971/72 | 9 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1972/73 | 22 (0) | 0 | 4 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | 3 (0) | 0 |