David Liddle Fairhurst (20 July 1906 – 26 October 1972) 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 most of his career, as a

left back 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 ...

, with

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, who he helped win the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

. He also made one appearance for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1933.

Career

Fairhurst was born in

Blyth, Northumberland Blyth () is a port town, port and seaside town as well as a civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth, Northumberland, River Blyth. It has a population of 39,731 as of the 2021 cens ...

and started his football career at

Blyth Spartans Blyth Spartans Association Football Club is an association football club based in Blyth, Northumberland. They are currently members of and play at Croft Park. They were founded in September 1899 by Fred Stoker, who was the club's first secre ...

before being signed by Jimmy Torrance for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

in June 1927. After two seasons playing for Walsall in the

Third Division South The Third Division South of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

he was signed by

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

for a fee of £1750 in March 1929. At Newcastle, Fairhurst was a consistent performer and gave the club over a decade of stout service. He took a while to get into the first team, and although he made his debut in a 2–1 victory at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

on 27 April 1929 his next appearance was not until December, when he displaced Scottish international

Bob Thomson Robert Thomson (29 December 1890 – 1971) was an English footballer who played during the early 20th century, mainly prior to World War I. Playing as a forward, Thomson carved out a career in the game despite having only one eye, resulting f ...

. From then on, Fairhurst was the first choice left-back for several seasons. He was an ever-present in the successful FA Cup campaign in

, in which Newcastle defeated

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the final in rather controversial circumstances. Arsenal took an early lead, when

Joe Hulme Joseph Harold Anthony Hulme (26 August 1904 – 27 September 1991) was an English footballer and cricketer. Football career Born in Stafford, Hulme usually played as a right-winger. Hulme played for Stafford YMCA before starting his career in ...

beat Fairhurst and centred the ball to

Bob John Robert Frederick John (3 February 1899 – 17 July 1982) was a Welsh football player and coach. Born in Barry, John played for Barry Town and Caerphilly, before joining English club Arsenal, who signed him, against stiff competition, in Januar ...

who easily beat goalkeeper Albert McInroy. Newcastle's equaliser came after a long ball had appeared to go over the goal line, and out for a goal kick; Newcastle winger

Jimmy Richardson James Robert Richardson (8 February 1911 – 28 August 1964) was an English footballer, best known for his time playing as a forward for Newcastle United. Club career Richardson joined Newcastle in April 1928 from Blyth Spartans, making his d ...

nevertheless crossed the ball back into play and Jack Allen levelled the match for the Magpies. The referee ruled that the ball had not gone out of play, even though photographic evidence later showed that the ball had actually crossed the line, and the goal stood. Allen scored again in the second half to win the match 2–1. The following year, Fairhurst became an international when he won his solitary England cap in the friendly against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 6 December 1933 at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

which England won 4–1, with two goals from

George Camsell George Henry Camsell (27 November 1902 – 7 March 1966) was an English Association football, footballer who scored a club record 325 league goals in 419 games for Middlesbrough F.C., Middlesbrough, and 18 goals in nine appearances for England ...

. For Newcastle, Fairhurst was ever-present in 1932–33 and only missed two matches in the following season, which ended in Newcastle being relegated to Division Two. Fairhurst continued to be a first choice regular for the next few seasons, but the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

brought his career to an end, although he did not officially announce his retirement until May 1946. In his Newcastle career, he made a total of 285 appearances, scoring twice. Both goals came in a 5–1 victory over

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

on 30 November 1935.Newcastle United 5 – Nottingham Forest 1; 30 November 1935 (Match summary)
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Career after football

Fairhurst joined Birmingham City in 1946 as trainer and then as physiotherapist in 1950. He was still at Birmingham when he died at age 66

Family

Fairhurst came from a sporting family and his elder brother, Billy Fairhurst, was a full-back with various teams in the 1930s including

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and Hartlepools United.

Honours

;

winner:

References

External links

*
England profile on www.englandfc.com

Newcastle United profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairhurst, David 1906 births 1972 deaths Footballers from Blyth, Northumberland English men's footballers England men's international footballers Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football fullbacks 20th-century English sportsmen