Biography
Dave Bamber was a tall and strong centre forward, great in the air and had an eye for the back of the net proven over a ten year career full of goals. Remarkable then, how Hull City used to have the knack of taking a player with such promise, in the peak of his career, and see his form and skills fade so quickly. Bamber was a poor player for Hull City during his three month spell towards the end of 1989/90 and a similar spell at the start of the folloiwng season. He was disinterested at times, scored comedy own goals and generally failed to contribute. Inevitably, he scored another truck load of goals the moment he left Boothferry Park.
Bamber was born in St Helens, Lancashire and took a path into football that was unconventional in the late 1970s – the footballing egghead route. Bamber studied Economics at Leicester University and played non-league football with St Helens Town before signing professional terms with Blackpool in 1979. Once his studies finished his football career flourished and in the early 1980s he twice hit 15 goals in a season for the Tangerines. Bamber moved to the top flight Coventry City in June 1983 but he didn’t impress at Highfield Road and moved again to Walsall the following March. He found goals again at Fellows Park and moved to Portsmouth in 1984/85, where in a year he made only four starts. A short spell in Sweden preceded a move to Swindon where Bamber again found his mojo, scoring 47 goals in 2 and a half seasons across all competitions. In 1988 Bamber again tried his hand at a higher level at Watford and Stoke City, before joining Hull City in February 1990.
Bamber left City in November 1990 and saw out the rest of his playing career back at Blackpool, his first club. This proved to be his most effective spell of his career as he contributed 72 goals over four seasons, including a remarkable 35 goal haul in 1991/92 as Blackpool won promotion to Division Three via a play-off final victory at Wembley. This was sweet for Bamber and his Blackpool team-mates, who had lost a Wembley play-off final 12 months earlier. However Bamber’s playing days came to an end in 1994 due to a pelvic injury. Bamber is inducted in Blackpool’s Hall of Fame, scoring 108 goals for the club across two spells that bookended his career.
Bamber pursued a successful second career as a building contractor and developer, focussing on housing and commercial poperty renovations and rebuilds.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 1 February 1959, St Helens
Hull City First Game: 3 February 1990, Sheffield United H (Division Two), 31 years, 2 days old
Hull City Final Game: 17 November 1990, Bristol City A (Division Two), 31 years, 289 days old
Clubs
Blackpool (1979-1983), Coventry City (1983), Walsall (1983-1984), Portsmouth (1984), Trelleborgs FF (1984-1985), Swindon Town (1985-1987), Watford (1988), Stoke City (1988-1990), Hull City (1990), Blackpool (1990, loan), Blackpool (1990-1994)
Hull City Record
Career: 30 apps, 5 goals
Dave BamberSeason | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1989/90 | 19 (0) | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
1990/91 | 6 (3) | 2 | - | - | 2 (0) | 0 | - | - | - | - |