Tony Bluff reports the news that Dave Blakey as good servant of the club in two spells has died.
It was a sad moment to hear of the death of Dave Blakey on Friday, 4th April aged 84. Born at Newburn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 22nd August 1929 he joined Chesterfield in 1947 to begin a playing career as a combative centre half spanning the next 19 years and a club record of 617 League games.
After his retirement as a player he turned to scouting for talent, principally with Burnley. His connection with Doncaster Rovers came in the 1980s when he joined Billy Bremner’s staff as Chief Scout and going with him to Leeds United. He re-joined Rovers during Dave Penney’s reign and helped them regain their League Status and the Third Division title.
It was a particularly sad moment for me because it was a privilege to have met him during his second spell at Rovers and discuss the “good” old days. I first saw him play in the late 1940s as he sought to gain a first team place at my home town team, Chesterfield, but he could only make occasional appearances in his preferred position because of the excellence of the occupant at that time, Ken Booker. Dave succeeded in his quest in 1952 and went on to break the club record of appearances before retiring in 1966.
The thoughts of everyone who knew him at the club go out to his family and friends at this difficult time.
Tony Bluff