Dick Keith

Matthewson Richard "Dick" Keith ( born May 15, 1933, Belfast, † 28 February 1967 Bournemouth ) was a Northern Irish footballer.

Sports career

Keith began his career with the Northern Irish club Linfield FC. After he had been awarded in the season 1955/56, as a Northern Irish football player of the year, he moved to England to Newcastle United. On the side of Alf McMichael, Jackie Milburn, Ronnie Simpson, Thommy Casey, George Heslop and Ivor Allchurch he played in the following years in the First Division, before the descent into second-class team in 1961. First, he remained the team in the Second Division faithful, but moved in 1963 after 208 games for the Magpies to the third division AFC Bournemouth. Three seasons later he moved to FC Weymouth, who had indeed been in the Southern Football League twice in a row champion, but had not made ​​the leap from non -league football.

After Keith had already played in the youth field in representative teams, he ran in October 1957 in the first international match of the Northern Ireland B national team for the first time at the senior level in the National Jersey. With good performance, he played himself into the notebook of coach Peter Doherty, under whom he made his debut in November of the year in a 3-2 victory over the England national team in a game at the British Home Championship in the Northern Ireland national team. There he ousted Willie Cunningham from the right -back position, it moved to the center half positions, and traveled as a regular player for the World Cup 1958. Employed in all group matches including the playoff against Czechoslovakia, he reached with the team in their first finals appearance the last eight. Two days after the first in extra time with a goal from Peter McParland decisive decision-making, the selection of the island in the match against France by Just Fontaine, Raymond Kopa and Roger Piantoni had no chance and lost the quarter-final match with 0:4. By 1962 he was still on for the national team for which he played a total of 23 matches. A further participation in the tournament was denied him.

At the beginning of his career in Northern Ireland Keith had worked in parallel in construction. After moving into the non -league football, he was again active in this area. When an industrial accident in the spring of 1967 he was hit by a steel beam.