Biography
Hull City appointed former Welsh international boss Mike Smith as club manager in January 1980. If the first thing he did was signing promising Welsh goalkeeper Tony Norman, the second thing he did was sign another promising Welsh goalkeeper in the form of John “Gunner” Davies. Davies spent seven seasons at City but remained entirely in the shadow of Norman for the whole time. A dutiful and capable deputy, Davies had to wait a year for his first team debut and had occasional runs in the team over the next three years. However in August 1983 Norman began a consecutive run of League starts that extended for five years and outlived Davies’ professional career. That career came to an end in 1987 after a serious knee injury sustained on loan at Notts County the previous year.
Davies hailed from Llandysul, a small town of 1,500 souls located in rural Ceredigion, 15 miles north of Carmarthen. Despite his proximity to Swansea it was Cardiff City who nurtured Davies through their youth system and onwards to a first team debut in August 1978 against Stoke City. Davies made four League starts in 1978/79 season and added three more during 1979/80 prior to joining the Tigers.
Following his retirement John Davies joined the Hull City coaching staff, then in 1990 he began a lengthy second career leading the Hull City community outreach effort. For many years he was City’s Football in the Community Officer, a role that morphed over time into Manager of the Tigers’ Trust, a job he departed in September 2018.
Details
Nationality: Wales
Date/Place of Birth: 18 November 1959, Llandysul
Hull City First Game: 7 February 1981, Blackpool H (Division Three), 21 years, 81 days old
Hull City Final Game: 14 May 1983, Rochdale A (Division Four), 23 years, 177 days old
Clubs
Cardiff City (1977-1980), Hull City (1980-1987), Notts County (1986, loan)
Hull City Record
Career: 27 apps, 0 goals
John Davies| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979/80 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1980/81 | 4 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1981/82 | 10 (0) | 0 | 2 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1982/83 | 10 (0) | 0 | - | - | 1 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| 1983/84 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1984/85 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1985/86 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986/87 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |