Dick Keith

Richard Matthewson Keith (15 May 1933 – 28 February 1967) was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland who played as a right-back. He made over 200 appearances for English club Newcastle United between 1956 and 1964, and also played for Linfield, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and Weymouth, and was a member of the Northern Ireland squad at the 1958 World Cup.

Dick Keith
Personal information
Full name Richard Matthewson Keith[1]
Date of birth (1933-05-15)15 May 1933
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Date of death 28 February 1967(1967-02-28) (aged 33)
Place of death Bournemouth, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Right Back
Youth career
33rd Old Boys
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1957 Linfield
1957–1964 Newcastle United 208 (2)
1964–1966 Bournemouth 47 (0)
1966–1967 Weymouth
National team
1957–1962 Northern Ireland 23 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
Newcastle United F.C. in 1960 with players from left, standing: James "Jimmy" Scoular, Richard Matthewson "Dick" Keith, Bryan Harvey (goalkeeper), Bob Stokoe, Alf McMichael and George Eastham; crouched from left: "Terry" W. L. Marshall, Ivor J. Allchurch, Leonard Roy "Len" White, John McGuigan and Liam Tuohy.

Playing career

Club

Keith was born in Belfast on 15 May 1933 and began his career in the Irish League with Linfield. He won the Irish Cup with Linfield in 1953 and was named Ulster Footballer of the Year in 1956. He was transferred to Newcastle United in September 1956, where he went on to make 208 Football League appearances and became captain in 1962. He joined Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in February 1964 and later joined non-League club Weymouth.

International

Keith made 23 appearances for Northern Ireland between 1957 and 1962, and was part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 1958 World Cup.[2] He also played for the Northern Ireland B team and the Irish League representative team.

Death

Keith died in Bournemouth on 28 February 1967 as a result of an accident at a builder's yard, when an automatic garage door he was dismantling collapsed on top of him. He was aged 33 and still playing for Weymouth at the time.

References
  1. "Dick Keith". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  2. "Dick Keith". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
Sources
  • Paul Joannou. A Complete Who's Who of Newcastle United.
  • Paul Joannou, Tommy Canning and Patrick Canning. Haway The Lads, The Illustrated Story of Newcastle United.
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