David Longhurst
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David John Longhurst | ||
| Date of birth | 15 January 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Northampton, England | ||
| Date of death | 8 September 1990 (aged 25) | ||
| Place of death | York, England | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1983–1985 | Nottingham Forest | 0 | (0) |
| 1985–1987 | Halifax Town | 85 | (24) |
| 1987–1988 | Northampton Town | 37 | (7) |
| 1988–1990 | Peterborough United | 58 | (7) |
| 1990 | York City | 6 | (2) |
| Total | 186 | (40) | |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
David John Longhurst (15 January 1965 – 8 September 1990) was an English footballer. During his career, he played for Nottingham Forest, Halifax Town, Northampton Town, Peterborough United and York City. He died on the pitch during a match for York City against Lincoln City in 1990.
Career
Longhurst was a pacy striker who began his career in Nottingham Forest's youth team. However, he never made it to Forest's first team; at the time they were one of the strongest sides in the Football League First Division under the management of Brian Clough. He was released in 1985, and joined Halifax Town in the Fourth Division. He was a goalscorer at the club, scoring 24 goals in 85 league appearances. After two seasons at Halifax, he joined his hometown club Northampton Town in 1987.
After one season at Northampton, Longhurst was signed by Peterborough United in 1988, before joining York City in the spring of 1990. In the third match of the 1990–91 season against Lincoln City, Longhurst suffered a heart attack on the pitch, and was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital. He was the first player to die in a Football League match in 63 years; the previous on-pitch death in a Football League match was Bury defender Sam Wynne in 1927. The subsequent inquest into Longhurst's death revealed that he suffered from a rare heart condition.[1]
York City later named one of the stands at the Bootham Crescent stadium after him.
References
- Jeffery, Robert; Gonnella, Mark (1999). "1980-1990: Decade of Disaster". Pictorial History of English Football. Parragon. p. 203. ISBN 1-84164-077-8.