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Steve Death
Stephen Victor Death (19 September 1949 – 26 October 2003) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Reading for almost the entirety of his career. Death was one of the longest-serving players to appear for Reading. He has been described as "Reading's greatest ever goalkeeper".[1] CareerWest Ham UnitedDeath was an England schoolboy international who made one League appearance for West Ham United on 30 April 1969 in a 1–1 away draw with Manchester City covering for regular goalkeeper Bobby Ferguson.[1] Death had originally joined West Ham as an apprentice in 1967 but by 1969 found his opportunities for first team football blocked by Ferguson and Peter Grotier.[1] ReadingHe joined Reading in 1969 and went straight into the team as first choice goalkeeper, and despite being only 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), the smallest goalkeeper in the Football League, he made the position his own for the next ten years with a total of 537 first team appearances.[1] There were doubts about his height as a goalkeeper immediately on joining Reading. He made his debut on 8 November 1969 in a 1–0 win[2] against Brighton after which the press described him as "an insignificantly built bundle of daredevil energy". Doubts about his height resurfaced after the next game on 22 November 1969 a 6–2 defeat by Southport[3] but Death continued to win the popularity of Reading fans so as to be named their player of the season in his first season for the club.[4] Death set many other records during his time at Elm Park. He was elected Player of the Season four times for seasons 1969/70, 1972/73, 1973/74 and 1976/77, won PFA Divisional Awards in 1973–74 and 1978–79,[1] collected a Division Four Championship plaque in 1978–79, kept 26 clean sheets in that season,[5] and at one stage made 156 consecutive first team appearances; this remains a club record. Death held the record of 1,074 minutes without conceding a goal in English league football,[1][6] before Manchester United's Edwin van der Sar broke the record against Everton on 31 January 2009.[citation needed] After footballDeath was given a testimonial in the 1979–80 season, with over 7,000 watching his Testimonial Match against a Young England XI managed by his former manager at West Ham, Ron Greenwood.[1] He left the game in 1982 and returned to his native Suffolk. He subsequently returned to Reading to work as a greenkeeper at Mapledurham local golf course.[1] DeathDeath died of cancer in 2003, aged 54 in the Duchess of Kent Hospice, Reading. He was survived by his partner, Sharon and his children Justin, Amber and Alexandria.[1] References
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