David Wagstaffe (5 April 1943 – 6 August 2013) 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

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Wagstaffe made over 500 league appearances throughout his career, which saw him represent

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in England and briefly the

Los Angeles Wolves The Los Angeles Wolves were an American professional Association football, soccer team that played for two seasons. In 1967 they played in the United Soccer Association, finishing as champions, and in 1968 North American Soccer League season, ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was notably the first player to be shown a red card in the

English 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 ...

, sent off for Blackburn during a 1–0 defeat against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

on 2 October 1976.

Career

Born in Openshaw,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Wagstaffe played in England and the United States for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

. Having signed for Wolves on Boxing Day in 1964, Wagstaffe went on to play 404 league and cup games for the club, placing him in the top 15 all-time appearance makers for Wolves. Although not a prolific goal scorer, he won Match of the Day's goal of the month in 1971 for a 35-yard shot as Wolves went on to beat Arsenal 5–1, as well as scoring in the second leg of the UEFA Cup Final against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

the same year. Wagstaffe featured in the Wolves side that were competing in the United States of America in the inaugural

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional association football, soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League ( ...

league as Los Angeles Wolves in 1967. The LA Wolves went on to win the Western Division, finally beating the

Washington Whips The Washington Whips were a soccer team based in Washington, D.C. that played in the United Soccer Association (United Soccer Association, USA). The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Washington Whips were the Aberde ...

(represented by

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

) in the final. During his time in the United States, Wagstaffe was visited by boyhood friend Davy Jones, lead singer of

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

who he had played street football with as a boy.

Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and new ...

, a cable television entrepreneur and owner of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

basketball team who had bought the LA Wolves franchise for $250,000, asked Wagstaffe to move to the United States and join his potential business as potential face of American soccer, but after returning to Wolverhampton, Wagstaffe decided against pursuing the opportunity. Whilst at Blackburn Rovers on 2 October 1976, Wagstaffe was the first player in English football to receive a red card. Despite Wagstaffe's talent, he was never capped for England, though he was selected to play on the left wing in the

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 ...

versus the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...

match at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

, Middlesbrough, in 1972.

Later life and death

After retiring from football, Wagstaffe ran the Queenscliffe Hotel and became steward of the Bispham Conservative Club in

, before returning to

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

and running the Butler's Arms in

Bushbury Bushbury is a suburban village and ward in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. It lies two miles north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, divided between the Bushbury North and Bushbury South and Low Hill wards. Bushbury ...

, the Old Wulfrunians Club in

Castlecroft Castlecroft is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located on the edge of the city, WSW of the city centre. It is situated where the Merry Hill, and Tettenhall Wightwick wards meet, and also borders South Staffordshire. History The n ...

, Hednesford Ex-Servicemens Club and Waggy's Bar in the Stan Cullis Stand at Molineux. In January 2013, Wagstaffe was inducted into Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hall of Fame. Wagstaffe suffered a heart attack in April 2013, and died at his home in Wolverhampton on 6 August 2013 after a short illness, aged 70. His funeral, attended by hundreds of fans, took place at Wolverhampton's St Peter's Collegiate Church on 22 August 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagstaffe, David 1943 births 2013 deaths English men's footballers Manchester City F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Los Angeles Wolves players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players English Football League players United Soccer Association players Footballers from Manchester Men's association football wingers English Football League representative players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers 20th-century English sportsmen