| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John David Bamber | ||
| Date of birth | (1959-02-01)1 February 1959 (age 66) | ||
| Place of birth | Prescot, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1983 | Blackpool | 81 | (29) |
| 1983–1984 | Coventry City | 19 | (3) |
| 1984 | Walsall | 20 | (7) |
| 1984 | Portsmouth | 4 | (1) |
| 1985 | Trelleborgs FF | 4 | (1) |
| 1985–1987 | Swindon Town | 108 | (31) |
| 1988 | Watford | 18 | (3) |
| 1988–1989 | Stoke City | 43 | (8) |
| 1989–1990 | Hull City | 28 | (5) |
| 1990 | →Blackpool (loan) | 5 | (4) |
| 1990–1994 | Blackpool | 108 | (56) |
| Total | 438 | (148) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
John David Bamber (born 1 February 1959) is an English former professionalfootballer. He played for nine clubs during a fifteen-year career. Over half of his 148 goals inthe Football League were scored during his three spells withBlackpool.
Born inPrescot, Lancashire, Bamber played forLeicester University andSt. Helens Town in youth and junior football. Bamber began his professional career atBlackpool in 1979. His starting debut came on 29 December 1979, in a loss atChester City. He scored his first goal for the Seasiders on 7 April 1980, in a league encounter againstCarlisle United atBloomfield Road. During the next four years of struggle, Bamber scored 36 goals in 100 games in all competitions under four different managers.Coventry City came in for his services prior to the1983–84 season. Bamber moved toWalsall in 1984, before a short stay atPortsmouth in 1984.
In 1985, he joinedSwedish sideTrelleborgs FF, making just four league appearances, scoring one goal, before moving back to England to play forSwindon Town later that same year. In two years withthe Robins he made 108 league appearances, scoring 31 goals.
In 1988, he joinedWatford with whom he made 18 league appearances and scored three goals before moving toStoke City later that same year. In 1989, he joinedHull City, before returning to Blackpool in 1990 to bring his fifteen-year playing career to a close. He was re-signed bythe Seasiders initially on loan, in December 1990, by the departingGraham Carr, who was immediately replaced by his assistant, Billy Ayre. "I signed for Graham Carr on the Thursday and got on the coach to go down to Hereford to find out that he'd been sacked," Bamber explained in 2012.[2] "Nobody seemed to know what was going on. Billy Ayre got on the coach further down the M6." A month later, on 5 January 1991, shortly before kick-off in anFA Cup match againstTottenham Hotspur, newSeasiders managerBilly Ayre agreed to pay Hull £50,000 for Bamber.
In his second spell at Blackpool, Bamber played atWembley twice in successive seasons (1990–91 and1991–92), both in the play-off finals, and both of which went to penalty shoot-outs. In the first final, againstTorquay United, Bamber put his spot-kick wide ofGareth Howells' left-hand post, handing promotion to theTangerines' south-coast opponents. Following this loss,the Gulls named their fanzineBamber's Right Foot, in mockery of the striker's miss.
The following year, however, Blackpool were victorious in the same manner againstScunthorpe United and were promoted to the newDivision Two. Bamber, who played despite needing an operation on his knee (preserving his record of being an ever-present throughout the season), scored Blackpool's normal-time goal. He did not partake in the penalty shoot-out. A persistentpelvic injury forced Bamber to retire in 1994.
Bamber was inducted into theHall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool playerJimmy Armfield in April 2006.[3] Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Bamber is in the 1990s.[4]
After retiring from football, Bamber remained in Blackpool with his family, becoming a property developer.
Source:[5]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[A] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Blackpool | 1979–80 | Third Division | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 1980–81 | Third Division | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 4 | |
| 1981–82 | Fourth Division | 38 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 17 | |
| 1982–83 | Fourth Division | 26 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 15 | |
| Total | 81 | 29 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 100 | 37 | ||
| Coventry City | 1983–84 | First Division | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| Walsall | 1983–84 | Third Division | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 |
| 1984–85 | Third Division | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 4 | |
| Total | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 7 | ||
| Portsmouth | 1983–84 | Second Division | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Trelleborgs FF | 1985 | Allsvenskan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Swindon Town | 1985–86 | Fourth Division | 23 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 9 |
| 1986–87 | Third Division | 42 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 58 | 20 | |
| 1987–88 | Second Division | 41 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 55 | 18 | |
| Total | 106 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 4 | 137 | 47 | ||
| Watford | 1988–89 | Second Division | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| Stoke City | 1988–89 | Second Division | 23 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 8 |
| 1989–90 | Second Division | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 3 | |
| Total | 43 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 11 | ||
| Hull City | 1989–90 | Second Division | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 3 |
| 1990–91 | Second Division | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | |
| Total | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 5 | ||
| Blackpool | 1990–91 | Fourth Division | 23 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 17 |
| 1991–92 | Fourth Division | 42 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 53 | 35 | |
| 1992–93 | Second Division | 24 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 13 | |
| 1993–94 | Second Division | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 7 | |
| 1994–95 | Second Division | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 113 | 60 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 136 | 72 | ||
| Career Total | 436 | 148 | 21 | 10 | 36 | 23 | 34 | 8 | 527 | 189 | ||
Swindon Town
Blackpool
Individual