Richard ‘Dickie’ Davis, born 22 January 1922 in Birmingham, died on this day 11 August 1999.
Davis, a forward who played for Sunderland and Darlington, turned out for the Lads on 144 occasions between 1946 and 1954. A prolific scorer during his time on Wearside, he scored seventy-three times – a strike rate of just over one in two.
During the 1949/1950 season, he achieved the accolade of being the First Division’s top goalscorer, having netted twenty-five times. He was the last Sunderland player to achieve this
for the next fifty years until Kevin Phillips matched the feat in 1999/2000 – and there have only been four others who have managed it in the entire history of our club to date: John Campbell, George Holley, Charlie Buchan and Dave Halliday.
Hallowed company indeed, I’m sure you agree.
In what may be a defining moment in the club’s history, Sunderland missed out on a seventh top-flight title by a single point. Despite two draws against champions Portsmouth and two wins against second-placed Wolves, two defeats to relegated Manchester City cost us the title.
When his time at Roker Park came to an end after eight years, Davis moved just down the A19 to Darlington, ending his career there having scored thirty-two goals in ninety-three games for the Quakers.
He retired in 1957 at the age of thirty-five, remembered by the fans as a great striker who had played alongside another great, Len Shackleton. Yet even Shackleton – and everyone since, other than Phillips – couldn’t match the achievement of finishing as the First Division’s top goalscorer while wearing the famous red and white stripes.
