Biography
Tall and skilful creative midfielder and striker Ian Davis was born in Hessle and came through the youth team ranks at Hull City after having played for Riley High School, Hull Schools and East Riding Juniors as a teenager – he was handed Hull’s Under-15 player of the year award in April 1980 ahead of a trial with Hull City, which led to him joining the Tigers’ youth team squad at the start of the 1980/81 season. He signed schoolboy forms in October 1980 and apprentice forms in July 1981, the latter offer headed off interest from top flight clubs Liverpool and Southampton. In April 1981 he played in the Humberside Boys team that reached the final of the English Schools Cup.
He came through the youth team a year or two behind notable academy products Brian Marwood, Garreth Roberts and Steve McClaren. He was a regular for Hull City’s Reserves during the 1981/82 season and in January 1982 he was called up to an assessment session for England’s youth team. His development accelerated again when he was bought into the City first team for Mike Smith’s last game in charge of the Tigers, a necessity as the club’s financial meltdown resulted in a shrinking squad. Davis scored on his March 1982 debut against Halifax Town, just four weeks after his seventeenth birthday, and retained his place for the rest of the season as Bobby Brown (who developed Davis while City’s youth team manager) and Chris Chilton attempted to steady the listing ship.
Ian was now regarded as one of the club’s brightest prospects, a significant accolade given the young players at Hull City’s disposal at that time. When Colin Appleton took over the manager’s post at City at the start of the 1982/83 season Davis was still involved in the first team scene, despite not signing his first professional contract until February 1983. As the season rolled on and City rose up the Division Four table, Davis started four first team games in February and March 1983 before a serious knee injury curtailed his season prematurely.
That injury to his knee ligaments, which required surgery in May 1983 and several further surgeries over subsequent years, coupled with subsequent damage to an ankle, kept Davis out of football for over a year. He returned to first team action for a May 1984 Associate Members Cup tie against Sheffield United and signed a new contract in June 1984, but his injuries continued to dog him and he was forced to retire from the professional game in February 1985, a fortnight after his 20th birthday.
His injuries meant that Davis had to drop into the non-league scene, he joined Conference National league side Scarborough in March 1985 before moving on to North Ferriby United in December 1985. He served the Villagers for just over a year before switching to Northern Counties East League side Bridlington Trinity in February 1987, who were managed by ex-Tiger Geoff Barker. He served Trinity for three seasons, spending a short spell in October 1989 helping out local rivals Bridlington Town. In July 1990 Ian moved to NCEL rivals Brigg Town, who had just appointed ex-Tiger John Kaye as manager, and spent two years on the South Bank before joining North Hull side Hall Road Rangers in August 1992.
Davis hung up his boots at the end of 1994 and focused on his work for British Aerospace at their Brough base. He retained that job for many years before retiring in 2020.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 1 February 1965, Hull
Hull City First Game: 2 March 1982, Halifax Town H (Division Four), 17 years, 29 days old
Hull City Final Game: 2 May 1984, Sheffield United H (Associate Members’ Cup Quarter Final), 19 years, 91 days old
Clubs
Hull City (1981-1985), Scarborough (1985), North Ferriby United (1985-1987), Bridlington Trinity (1987-1990), Bridlington Town (1989), Brigg Town (1990-1992), Hall Road Rangers (1992-1994)
Hull City Record
Career: 32 apps, 1 goals
Ian Davis| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981/82 | 18 (2) | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1982/83 | 7 (1) | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 (1) | 0 |
| 1983/84 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 (0) | 0 |
| 1984/85 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Is ian davis the youngest goal scoring debutantee for hull city