David Bickles (6 April 1944 – 1 November 1999) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Career

Bickles started his career as a youth player for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. He made his debut for West Ham at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

in a 2–1 win in September 1963; the last occasion that West Ham would beat

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on their own ground for 52 years and 42 games. During a game against Liverpool in 1966, Bickles was injured in a clash with

Ian St John John "Ian" St John (; 7 June 1938 – 1 March 2021) was a Scottish professional football player, coach and broadcaster. St John played as a forward for Liverpool throughout most of the 1960s. Signed by Bill Shankly in 1961, St John was a key m ...

and dislocated his shoulder. Never fully diagnosed by West Ham doctors Bickles was accused of not putting in the effort. After only 28 appearances in all competitions for West Ham he was transferred to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

in October 1967. Palace medical staff fully diagnosed Bickle's injury problems and discovered that a piece of bone had broken-off from his shoulder. Injury meant that he failed to play for Palace and in 1968 moved to

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

before becoming player/manager for

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

in the Southern League. Bickles had a short spell managing Collier Row in the

Spartan League The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establi ...

in the 1980s. Leaving football Bickles took up teaching in

East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...

where, as a PE teacher, he spotted Lee Hodges playing and recommended him to "The Hammers". In the 1990s he was invited by West Ham youth coach

Tony Carr Anthony Carr Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 5 September 1950) is an English sports coach and former Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United F.C., West Ham United football club's West Ham United F.C. Reserves and Academy, yo ...

, with whom he had played in the 1960s, to join the coaching staff. Ill health struck Bickles in 1997 when he was diagnosed with

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include ...

; the cause of his death on 1 November 1999. A few days later, on 4 November 1999, before a

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

game against Steaua Bucharest a minute's silence was held for Bickles and fellow West Ham player Johnny Byrne who had also recently died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickles, Dave 1944 births 1999 deaths English men's footballers West Ham United F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Romford F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders Footballers from the London Borough of Newham People from West Ham Deaths from kidney cancer in England West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff English football coaches 20th-century English sportsmen