DAVE THOMAS, FAMILY AND HANNAH

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/DavidThomas7

At 66 Dave Thomas suffers from hereditary glaucoma. he discovered this after a standard visit to the opticians when he was 50 and gradually his peripheral vision had faded, something he never suffered from when he was playing. He now has a guide dog, Hannah, who he says has changed his life. He cant drive, he is reliable on others to help him and living in Barnard Castle, Dave needs to get around and of course he enjoys watching football. He does play golf. The dog does not "spot" for him, his mates do though Dave says he hits the ball straight!

Born in Kirkby in Ashfield (Notts) in 1950, Dave played for Burnley as a 16 year old teenager from 1966 making over 150 appearances and scoring 19 goals-he was a supplier, not a finisher! He was known as a player who didn't wear shin pads (illegal today of course).His debut was a 1-8 defeat to West Brom! Not much supplying going on, then?

His father had previously turned down an approach by Don Revie, offering to take his son to Leeds Utd! Revie had seen the lad playing for England Schoolboys in 1965 and after the game, Revie followed Dave and his dad who drove home in a motorbike and sidecar, like Wallace and Gromit!
Revie turned up at his house with club chairman Manny Cussins, in a RollS Royce, offering Dave £30 a week and digs and £2000. Thomas' dad was a manual worked who earned only a few pounds per week at that time, so it was quite attractive an offer.
However, Thomas' dad said that he had given his word to Burnley that his son was join them and he wasn't going to change his mind. Revie respected that! Thomas' dad died at the age of 97 and had been blind late in life.

Grandfather Thomas, David Reece Thomas, had been captain of West Auckland FC, a colliery team, that competed in the first "World Cup Finals", playing for The Sir Thomas Lipton World Football Trophy, in 1909.

The competition included a semi-final match against Stuttgarter Sportfreunde, from Germany on April 11th 1909, which the miners won 2-0.
The other semi included hosts, Torino, who lost to FC Winterthur (Switz).
On the 12th, in the final, West Auckland beat the Swiss 2-0. The trophy sits in the WAFC club house in the village. I have seen it! (or it may have been a copy of course)
In 1911 the Miners returned to beat Zurich and then took on Juventus (who had beaten Torino) in the final, winning the trophy outright with a 6-1 thumping of the Italians.

WAFC presently play in the Northern League Div 1. Some say that it was Woolwich Arsenal FC that the Italians wanted in the competition, but somehow they got WAFC instead!

In 1972, Dave went to QPR staying for 5 years and playing in 182 games with 27 goals. he played with Stan Bowles, Gerry Francis in a team that lost the Division One Championship (the top one then) by one point to Liverpool. Dave went to Everton (Bob Latchford to aim for) for a couple of years, then Wolves, Vancouver Whitecaps, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth. He made 8 appearances for England in 1974-5.

When he retired Dave worked as a PE teacher.

p.s.I heard of a good way to select your stag night (or hen party) VENUE. Some lads recently listened to the football on radio and when the first goal was scored by a club (in the Football League) that was where they went. Actually it turned out to be Birmingham, so not too disastrous!