Leicester City In 100 Players: Davie Gibson
A Scotland international midfield maestro, whose performances delighted Leicester City fans in the 1960s, inside-left Davie Gibson was one of the most skilful midfield players ever to play for Leicester City.
His skill on the ball, his elegant control, his visionary passing and his all-round artistry entranced City fans for nearly a decade. He played 339 games for the Club, the vast majority of them in the old First Division.
Davie joined Leicester City from Hibernian for a fee of £25,000 in January 1962. He joined the Club in the same month as outside-left Mike Stringfellow, with whom he forged a legendary left-wing partnership during the halcyon days of the 1960s.
He was recommended to City by their coach Bert Johnson, who saw him as the ideal partner for the recently signed winger Stringfellow. When he arrived at Filbert Street, Davie was still doing his National Service in the Kings Own Scottish Borderers.
As well as playing for Hibernian, he had also played for the British Army on several occasions. Soon after joining Leicester, Davie was posted to Aden, before being sent to Hong Kong and Singapore to play for the British Army.
He became a full-time Leicester City player when he was de-mobbed from the Army in August 1962. His scintillating displays in the 1962/63 season, during the coldest winter of the 20th century, contributed to the Club winning a record 10 successive victories in the league and FA Cup, as the team became realistic contenders for the league and FA Cup double.
At the end of that season, City finished fourth in the table and were beaten FA Cup Finalists. In the close season which followed, Davie won the first of his seven Scotland caps, playing alongside his Leicester City team-mate Frank McLintock and other Scotland greats including Jim Baxter, Denis Law, and Ian St John.
His goals in both legs of the 1964 League Cup against Stoke City helped secure the trophy for Leicester City. He also played in the 1965 League Cup Final against Chelsea, as well as in the 1969 FA Cup Final versus Manchester City.
Davie averaged an impressive 45 league and cup games for each of the seven top-flight seasons from 1962/63 until 1968/69. Towards the end of his career, he moved to Aston Villa in September 1970 and to Exeter City, managed by the ex-Leicester City player John Newman, in January 1972.
Now living in Dorset, Davie still travels to watch Leicester City play several times a season.