David Longhurst

David Longhurst
Personal information
Full name David John Longhurst
Date of birth 15 January 1965(1965-01-15)
Place of birth Northampton, England
Date of death 8 September 1990(1990-09-08) (aged 25)
Place of death York, England
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1985 Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
1985–1987 Halifax Town 85 (24)
1987–1988 Northampton Town 37 (7)
1988–1990 Peterborough United 58 (7)
1990 York City 6 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

David John Longhurst (15 January 1965 – 8 September 1990) was an English footballer. During his career, he played for Nottingham Forest, Halifax Town, Northampton Town, Peterborough United and York City. He died on the pitch during a match for York City against Lincoln City in 1990.

Career

Longhurst was a pacy striker who began his career in Nottingham Forest's youth team. However, he never made it to Forest's first team. He was released in 1985, and joined Halifax Town. He was a goalscorer at the club, scoring 24 goals in 85 league appearances. After two seasons at Halifax, he joined Northampton Town in 1987.

After one season at Northampton, Longhurst was signed by Peterborough United in 1988, before joining York City in the spring of 1990. In the third match of the 1990–91 season, Longhurst suffered a heart attack on the pitch, and was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital. He was the first player to die in a Football League match in 69 years. York City named one of the stands at the Bootham Crescent stadium after him.