Obituary - Dave Dunmore

We were saddened to hear of the passing of our former player Dave Dunmore, who passed away in hospital in York after a brave battle against dementia on Sunday. He was 87.

Born in Whitehaven on 18 February 1934, centre forward Dave's goalscoring prowess at York City attracted the attention of many scouts and he was snapped up by Arthur Rowe, manager of our famous 'push and run' title winners in 1950/51, in February, 1954.

Dave's opportunities were somewhat limited initially by National Service, and then by the arrival of all-time great Bobby Smith in 1955, but he still managed to score 26 goals in his 81 appearances for us in the old First Division and FA Cup. He eventually left for West Ham in March, 1960 before a switch across east London to Leyton Orient a year later in March, 1961.

He was a fans' favourite at Brisbane Road, scoring 54 times in 147 appearances between 1960-65. He initially helped the Os stave off relegation before playing a key role in their promotion to the First Division in 1961/62, their only season in the top flight.

Dave returned to York in the summer of 1965 and finished his career with spells at non-league clubs Wellington Town and Bridlington Trinity. His final goal tally in the Football League was 132 in 369 appearances. Interestingly, Dave was one of only eight former team-mates of Bill Nicholson later selected during Bill's reign as manager.

We extend our condolences to Dave's widow Barbara, his children Anne, Peter and Michael, his five grandchildren and three great grandchildren at this sad time.