Football Programmes Centre

badhand · Joined: 30 Nov 2008 Posts: 217

The former Bristol Rovers and Swansea Town defender Joe Davis passed away last month. There are a couple of obituaries. First on the official site of Bristol Rovers and, second, on the website of the Bristol Rovers Former Players Association.

https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/2018/november/29.11.18-joseph-davis-obituary/

https://brfpa.org.uk/2018/11/28/in-memory-of-joe-davis/

1881Orient · Joined: 24 Jul 2017 Posts: 71

RIP Joe.

Westwardprogs · Joined: 29 May 2013 Posts: 689

I attended Joe's funeral at Staple Hill Methodist Church in Bristol earlier today. The Church was packed, not only with people from Rovers, but also the Evening Post, Kingswood Probus Club, the Church and his extended family.
Ian Holloway made one of several excellent speeches during the service. After an achilies injury brought his own playing career to a cruelly premature end, Joe was persuaded by chief scout Bill Dodgin and coach Bobby Campbell to lead the club's youth and schoolboy scouting operation on a part-time basis iwhilst he persued his main job in the circulation department of the Evening Post.
Ian was one of many players Joe discovered. the best-known of which were Gary Penrice, Paul Randall, Phil Kite and Steve White. Joe was a modest gentleman, who in later life often showed greater pride in the achievements of his 'discoveries' than in his own playing career.