David John Shearer (16 October 1958 – 3 July 2022) was a Scottish 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Although he had trials with

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

as a teenager, Shearer continued to play locally in his home Fort William area in the Scottish North West Highlands, before signing as a part time professional with senior Inverness-based football club Clachnacuddin in the

Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Scott ...

. His other professional clubs, all in the English Football League, included

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

and Gillingham. He made over 230

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances. He was the older brother of fellow former professional and Highland Football League player

Duncan Shearer Duncan Nichol Shearer (born 28 August 1962) is a Scottish former footballer, currently coaching the 'Development squad' at Inverness Caledonian Thistle. During his playing career, Shearer predominantly played for Huddersfield Town, Swindon Town ...

References

1958 births 2022 deaths AFC Bournemouth players Darlington F.C. players Men's association football forwards Gillingham F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Footballers from Inverness Scottish men's footballers Scunthorpe United F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Billingham Synthonia F.C. players English Football League players Clachnacuddin F.C. players Highland Football League players 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-forward-1950s-stub