HE might turn 80 on Tuesday but former York City favourite Dave Dunmore is still revered by Leyton Orient fans.

So much so that Alan Chandler, an ambassador for the East London team’s Supporters’ Club, made a 270-mile round trip from his Solihull home yesterday to wish Heworth-based Dunmore many happy returns ahead of his landmark birthday.

The soon-to-be octogenarian, who still boasts a golf handicap of 15.1 and plays four times a week, was the top scorer in the only O’s team to ever win promotion to the top tier of English football in 1962, netting 22 times.

After arriving from West Ham, Dunmore spent four-and-a-quarter seasons at Brisbane Road before returning to Bootham Crescent in 1965, where he had started his professional career 13 years earlier. Chandler presented the O’s legend with a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne on his pilgrimage to North Yorkshire and, explaining his journey, he said: “Dave is one of the most iconic players in our history and arguably one of the best.

“I believe he should have got an England cap but, when you play for an unfashionable Cinderella club, like ourselves or York City, that doesn’t happen. I remember his debut against Charlton when we lost 2-0.

“Dave doesn’t, because he’s told me he only remembers the games he scored in. I was a teenager then and he was a very elegant player.

“I can also remember him leaping like a salmon and heading against the bar in a cup replay against Burnley, when they were the league champions. He used to score fantastic goals and had a terrific shot.

“He was also fast and brought people into the game. At Leyton Orient, we revere our former players and Dave is a great character who is still very active for his age.”

Dunmore made 123 appearances during his two spells with the Minstermen, scoring 41 goals.

Almost 60 years ago to the day, he was snapped up by Tottenham Hotspur just after his 20th birthday for a club record fee of £10,500 having scored 21 goals during the first two-thirds of the 1953/54 season.

Ironically, much of that money was spent on assembling the subsequent Happy Wanderers side that went on to knock Spurs out of the FA Cup on the famous run to the semi-finals the following season.

Dunmore stayed at White Hart Lane for six years before plying his trade at West Ham and Orient ahead of his return to the Minster city.

Despite his distinguished career, the former Canon Lee pupil started and finished his senior playing days on York’s park pitches however.

He first caught the eyes of City scouts at Cliftonville – a happy breeding-ground for future Bootham Crescent stars in the 1950s.

Dunmore went on to excel for Red Lion in the York Sunday League before finally hanging up his boots.

Due to his experience in local football Dunmore has welcomed the decision to hold an annual York Football Legends dinner with the first, organised by City Football Development, to be staged at the Racecourse on Friday, April 25.

Awards will be presented to players and teams deemed the best to play in the York & District League, while referees, administrators and managers will also be recognised.

Dunmore has his own thoughts on would-be worthy recipients of such honours, saying: “There were so many good footballers playing locally back in the 1950s.

“Barry Jackson obviously became a stalwart at York City.

“Then, there were people like Mick Grainger and the winger Charlie Ware, who also played a bit for York but could have had a better career.

“They all started at Cliftonville and, along with York RI, I think they were one of the best clubs around.”

With fewer and fewer former professionals getting involved in grassroots football when their careers come to an end, Dunmore is also pleased to see two former Minstermen, Iain Dunn and Darren Dunning, managing Huntington Rovers and Old Malton St Mary’s respectively in this season’s York Minster Engineering Football League.

Dunmore said: “That’s good. Darren actually came round to fix my boiler not so long ago and I think more players should get involved locally when they have packed in.

“Why not? It used to happen in my day but, perhaps, the gap between local football and the professional game is a bit wider now.

“The difference in what players get paid, compared to what we did, is definitely a lot bigger.”

Despite playing at the highest level of the domestic game, Dunmore pocketed a minute fraction of what today’s Premier League millionaires earn.

He worked in a garage as a panel-beater on his retirement from the game but can gain satisfaction from the fact that he is still remembered fondly for his achievements in a Leyton Orient shirt.

On their champagne award, he said: “That was very nice of them.”

 

McCombe off to a sudden impact

NEW signing John McCombe is the front-runner in The Press Player of the Month for February contest.

McCombe was our choice as man of the match for a second successive fixture during last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Cheltenham.

Right-back Lanre Oyebanjo (two) and Michael Coulson (one) were also awarded points as our second and third-highest rated players respectively against the Robins.

The two bonus points towards the standings, meanwhile, went to Russell Penn after he polled the most man-of-the-match votes from visitors to our website and followers of the @daveflettpress Twitter account.

To be in with a chance of presenting the February Player of the Month with his prize – a framed photograph – before a game at Bootham Crescent, vote for your man of the match from today’s game at Plymouth.

The Press Player of the Year latest standings: Lowe 21 points, Fletcher 20, Carson 19, McGurk 18, Oyebanjo 17, O’Neill 14, Brobbel 11, Montrose 11, Jarvis 9, Parslow 8, Ingham 7, McCombe 7, Pope 7, Smith 7, Coulson 6, Bowman 5, Chambers 5, Davies 5, Clay 4, Penn 4, Puri 2, Whitehouse 2, Kettings 1.

The Press Player of the Month for February latest standings: McCombe 6, Penn 3, Carson 2, Lowe 2, Oyebanjo 2, Coulson 1.

Goals: Fletcher 12, Jarvis 9, Bowman 6, Brobbel 3, Carson 3, Own goals 2, Coulson 1, McGurk 1, Montrose 1, O’Neill 1.

Assists: Coulson 5, O’Neill 5, Carson 4, Bowman 3, Brobbel 3, Fletcher 3, Jarvis 3, Clay 2, McGurk 2, Smith 2, Cresswell 1, Davies 1, Fyfield 1, Hayhurst 1, Ingham 1, Montrose 1, Oyebanjo 1.

Bad boys: Montrose ten yellow cards; Oyebanjo, Whitehouse both six yellow; O’Neill, Smith both four yellow; Bowman two red, one yellow; Carson, Lowe, McGurk all three yellow; Cresswell one red, one yellow; Davies, Fyfield, Jarvis, Platt all two yellow; Chambers, Clay, Coulson, Hayhurst, McCombe, Parslow, Penn and Reed all one yellow.