FAREWELL TO OUR DAVE

DAVID SMITH, a freelance match reporter for the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, has died aged 56.

Dave started his career on Match before moving on to write and then edit Shoot! when it was the world’s largest-selling football magazine.

Presiding over his weekly editorial conferences in the same London pub every Friday, he was never short of ideas.

Dave signed up Paul Gascoigne, and apart from ghost-writing his column he also persuaded him to dress up as Father Christmas in Selfridge’s.

He also somehow convinced renowned hard man Vinny Jones, and his Wimbledon team-mate John Fashanu, to transform themselves into the Ugly Sisters for another memorable photoshoot.

Another time, he brought a feature idea to life by getting Swansea City, then a lower league outfit, to allow him to turn out for their reserves in a pre-season game – only to steal the show with a fourgoal display.

But his greatest coup was undoubtedly in 1989 when he talked Liverpool’s legendary striker – and magazine columnist – Ian Rush into posing in an Everton shirt.

There he was on the Shoot! front cover with a ‘World Exclusive’ headline.

Thousands of Liverpool followers then bombarded the Anfield switchboard to check if it the story was true, but were oblivious to the April 1 dateline. Derby County fan Dave made many friends in the world of football, including England stars Dave Beasant, Gary Stevens, Neil Ruddock and Trevor Steven, for whom he co-wrote autobiographies.

In his later years, Dave worked for the Professional Footballers’ Association, and spent his Saturday afternoons covering matches for the Sunday Mirror.

Dave leaves a widow Carole and sons Joshua and Ben.