The death of former Bradford Park Avenue player Jeff Suddards last week brought back memories to Ken Davies, who spent a couple of seasons at the club in the mid-1950s.

“He was a clean player, a gentleman. I could never say anything wrong about him,” he said.

Suddards played 327 times for Park Avenue when they were a Football League club, but his career was nearing its end when Bradford-born and bred Ken made his debut in the reserves in an away match at Peterborough.

He was 25, he remembers, rather late to start a career as a professional footballer. Ken was a part-timer. He had a job as a fire alarm installer at ICI in Middlesbrough.

“They paid me about £15 a week, more than the £8 to £10 a week I was getting at Park Avenue,” he added.

He said he played about 15 times for the reserves and felt he was ready for the first team, but it didn’t happen.

“I had been following Park Avenue for 13 years. At 18 I did National Service in the RAF for two years. Then I played for Selby Town and clubs in the West Riding League.”

Mr Davies, 82, lived in Thornton for many years before moving to Leeds.