David Harvey

Leeds United

Born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire in 1948, Harvey attended Foxwood School (in the Seacroft area of Leeds), and played for Leeds City Boys before leaving school to work in a Stylo shoe factory. He was signed as a professional footballer by Don Revie in February 1965, after having played as an apprentice for two years. Harvey was the reserve goalkeeper for Leeds United during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was on the reserves' bench when Leeds won the League Cup and the Fairs Cup in 1968, the League championship in 1969, and the Fairs Cup in 1971. Though he did play four times in each of the two Fairs Cup trophy winning seasons. In the 1970 FA Cup Final, an error by first-choice goalkeeper Gary Sprake allowed opponents Chelsea to equalise in the first half. Sprake was blameless for the second equaliser, but Harvey replaced him for the replay, which Leeds lost 2–1. In the 1971–72 season, Harvey played only eleven matches, but was selected ahead of Sprake for the 1972 FA Cup Final against Arsenal, as Sprake was suffering from a knee injury. Leeds won 1–0 with an Allan Clarke goal, and from that point on Harvey was the first-choice goalkeeper. Harvey played 63 times in the 1972–73 season, and played in both the FA Cup Final and the European Cup Winners Cup Final – ending up on the losing side both times. Leeds put together a 29-match unbeaten start to the 1973–74 season, winning the League championship and earning Harvey the title medal to which…

He retired from football at the age of 37 years. He managed a public house at Stamford Bridge, near York. He then became a postman, saying, "The sorting office atmosphere was like a dressing room". In 1994, with his second wife, June (and their five children), he bought a 150-year-old stone cottage with 10 acres of farmland on Sanday in Orkney. He again worked as a postman. On 24 December 2009, he suffered a heart attack, from which he recovered. In July 2020 Harvey relocated to Lochmaben near Dumfries for greater accessibility to his grandchildren in comparison to Orkney.

Leeds United

Football League First Division: 1973–74 FA Cup: 1971–72; runner-up: 1969–70, 1972–73 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1967–68, 1970–71 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1972–73 Scotland

British Home Championship: 1973–74 (shared)