David Wagstaffe (5 April 1943 – 6 August 2013) was an English professional footballer who played as a left winger. Wagstaffe made over 500 league appearances throughout his career, which saw him represent

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, Wolves, Blackburn and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in England and briefly the

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

in the United States. He was notably the first player to be shown a red card in the English Football League, sent off for Blackburn during a 1-0 draw against Leyton Orient on 2 October 1976.

Career

Born in Openshaw, Manchester, Wagstaffe played in England and the United States for

, Wolverhampton Wanderers,

, Blackburn Rovers 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 the same year. Wagstaffe featured in the Wolves side that were competing in the United States of America in the inaugural United Soccer Association league as Los Angeles Wolves in 1967. The LA Wolves went on to win the Western Division, finally beating the Washington Whips (represented by Aberdeen) in the final. During his time in the United States, Wagstaffe was visited by boyhood friend Davy Jones, lead singer of The Monkees who he had played street football with as a boy. Jack Kent Cooke, 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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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 football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

versus the Scottish League match at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in Middlesbrough, 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 was demolished in 1997 and r ...

, 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 and running the Butler's Arms in Bushbury, the Old Wulfrunians Club in Castlecroft, 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 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 Association football wingers English Football League representative players English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers Outfield association footballers who played in goal