Geoff Davies (footballer)

Geoff Davies

Personal information
Full name	Geoffrey Peter Davies
Date of birth	(1947-07-01) 1 July 1947
Place of birth	Ellesmere Port, England
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1970–1972	Wigan Athletic	76	(52)
1972–1973	Chester City	32	(5)
1973–1975	Wrexham	67	(15)
1975–1976	Boston Minutemen	29	(10)
1976	Chicago Sting	5	(4)
1976–77	Port Vale	7	(0)
1976	→ Hartlepool United (loan)	5	(1)
1977	San Jose Earthquakes	24	(5)
1977–1978	Wimbledon	23	(1)
1978–1979	Los Angeles Skyhawks	24	(6)
1980–1981	San Francisco Fog (indoor)	13	(4)
Total		305	(103)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Geoffrey Peter "Geoff" Davies (born 1 July 1947) is an English former professional footballer who played in the United Kingdom and the United States as a midfielder.

He began his career with Wigan Athletic, winning the Northern Premier League title in 1970–71, before joining Chester City in 1972. The next year he transferred to Wrexham, before he departed the Football League for the Boston Minutemen in 1975. He moved on to the Chicago Sting the following year, and then returned to England to play for Port Vale and Hartlepool United. He spent 1977 in both the States and England, playing for the San Jose Earthquakes, before signing with Wimbledon. He joined the Los Angeles Skyhawks in 1978, and had a brief spell with the San Francisco Fog in 1980.

Playing career

Davies began his career in English non-league football with Northern Premier League side Wigan Athletic. In 1970–71, he helped the "Latics" win the league title, scoring a total of 42 goals in all competitions, including seven hat-tricks. He spent two seasons with Wigan, finishing as the club's top scorer on both occasions, before turning professional and joining Chester City in 1972. Davies made a total of 32 Fourth Division appearances for Chester in 1972–73, scoring five goals. He moved to Wrexham a season later, and made a total of 67 league appearances – scoring 15 goals – between 1973 and 1975. John Neal's "Dragons" finished one place and five points shy of promotion out of the Third Division in 1973–74, before dropping to 13th in 1974–75.

Davies then moved to the United States to play in the NASL with the Boston Minutemen, scoring six goals in 17 games in 1975, as the Minutemen finished top of the Northern Division only to lose 2–1 to the Miami Toros in the play-off quarter-finals. He scored four goals in 12 games in 1976, as this time his side finished bottom of the division. Davies moved onto league rivals the Chicago Sting before the end of the season, scoring four goals in five games, as the Sting topped the division only to lose 3–2 to the Toronto Metros-Croatia in the Conference semi-finals.

Davies returned to England in 1976, and made seven league appearances for Roy Sproson's Port Vale, and five on loan at Hartlepool United. His contract with the Vale was cancelled by mutual consent in January 1977. He spent 1977 with the San Jose Earthquakes, scoring five goals in 24 games, as his team were beaten 2–1 by the Los Angeles Aztecs in the first round of the play-offs. Davies then signed for Wimbledon for the 1977–78 season, where he made 23 league appearances for the Football League newcomers.

He returned to the United States to sign with the Los Angeles Skyhawks for the 1978 American Soccer League campaign, and scored six goals in 24 games as the Skyhawks reached the Conference finals, where they were beaten 1–0 by New York Apollo. He was a coach at the club in 1979. He played the 1980–81 Major Indoor Soccer League season with the San Francisco Fog, the club's only ever season of football; he scored four goals in 13 games.

Honours

with Wigan Athletic

• Northern Premier League champion: 1970–71