Come to the Park and make Gibbo welcome on his return
UPDATE: Several of Davie Gibson’s former teammates will be at St James Park on Wednesday 5th June, to welcome Gibbo back to the Park and to attend their former colleague’s book-launch.
The four guests that are booked in to be there racked up over an astonishing 1000 appearances in City colours during their playing careers. So make a note in your diary and come to the Park on Wednesday (between 5pm and 6pm) to meet some Grecian greats!
Amongst the guests joining Gibbo will be Keith Bowker and Jimmy Blain. Bowker, originally from the Midlands, moved to St James Park after departing Birmingham City – and went on to make over 200 appearances for the Grecians over two spells, including playing with Gibbo when he first arrived in the south-west. Meanwhile Blain played over 300 times for the Grecians (mainly as a left-back but competent all over the pitch), after making the long journey south from Carlisle. He was voted the Grecians’ Player of the Year in the 1966/67 season and left the club the same summer as Gibbo retired.
Two other City legends in the form of Alan Banks and Jimmy Giles – Banksy and Giler – will be in attendance. The pair played nearly 600 games between them in City colours – their careers at the Park overlapping Gibbo’s stay – and they are still regulars at the club, by helping out in matchday hospitality and they still act as two of the mainstays in the club’s former players’ association.
Davie’s biography, entitled Gibbo – the Davie Gibson Story – chronicles life as a footballer in the 1960s and 1970s. The midfielder retired from the game in 1974 – almost 40 years ago – bringing a close to a two-and-a-half year spell with the Grecians and calling time on a playing career that had spanned almost two decades.
Come to the Park, meet some true legends of the club and welcome Gibbo back on his return to the club!
We are delighted to announce that former Exeter City midfielder Davie Gibson will be visiting the club shop at St James Park on Wednesday 5th June for a book signing, to celebrate the release of his biography: Gibbo – The Davie Gibson Story.
Come along between 5pm and 6pm – (ideal if you’re on your way home from work) and meet Davie at his Exeter City book launch. Gibbo’s former teammate Alan Banks will also be in attendance, with other special guests to be confirmed. He is pictured left here at his book launch at Hibernian (with fellow Scotsman Alan Devlin, right) with whom he played alongside for the Grecians.
Davie – who is originally from Edinburgh – played for Exeter City during the early-1970s, having previously represented Hibs, Leicester and Aston Villa. He was a legend at Filbert Street – widely considered one of Leicester’s all-time greats – and he was goalscorer for the club in both legs of the 1964 League Cup final as the Foxes triumphed over Stoke City. The release of his new book marks the 50th anniversary of his FA Cup final appearance for Leicester against Manchester United at Wembley in 1963. He also represented the Scottish national team on seven occasions.
Gibbo joined the Grecians from Villa in 1972, and saw out the remaining days of his playing career at St James Park. In total, he featured 71 times during two-and-a-half years, and scored three goals for the club from the centre of the park.
He remained in Devon after hanging up his boots, as he ran a seed and garden shop in Exmouth. He later returned to the East Midlands to work as a postman. He is fondly remembered by those that had the pleasure of watching him play.
In the book, author Chris Westcott chronicles life on and off the field for Gibbo and provides a humorous glimpse into the lives of some of football’s great names, and a rich selection of anecdotes that captivate life as a footballer during the 1960s and 1970s.
As Gibbo himself explains: “The book is really about a wee boy from a miners row who made it to the top as a professional footballer. There were no TVs, Computers or iPads when I was growing up so we spent all out time practicing out football skills with a ‘tanner ba’.”
So please come down to the book-signing and make Davie welcome on his return to the Park, almost 40 years after he retired from football at the club.