The football register of players from Devon – Part One

On another wet weekend for Devon sport, we are digging into the classic online list for some footballing memories.

As such, we delved into everyone’s favourite portal for useful (sometimes useless) information, Wikipedia. Other portals are available, other lists are available, other players are probably omitted.

But here it is, Part One of the complete (ish) list of Devon footballers – Part Two next week:

Ryan Ashford: Born in Honiton in 1981, Ashford began his career at Southampton, played a couple of games for Torquay before slipping into the non-league scene.

Ryan Ashington: Paignton 1983, midfielder Ashington graduated from the Torquay youth system before injury curtailed his progress. He later had a brief spell with Newport County.

Brooke Aspin: Tiverton 2005, centre-back Aspin is one of the most exciting prospects in women’s football. Capped at various England youth levels, Aspin is currently on loan at Crystal Palace from Chelsea.

Hiley Bamsey: Woodbury 1916, Bamsey played for Exeter City before being tragically killed in Iraq during World War Two at the age of just 27.

Alex Battle: Plymouth 1999, striker Battle came through the Plymouth Argyle youth scheme, making one appearance for the Greens. He has since starred for the likes of Truro City and Tavistock.

Ralph Birkett: Torquay 1913, a rare England international from Devon, Birkett was a sensation at Torquay, earning a move to Arsenal in 1933. He also played for Middlesbrough and Newcastle, spending his final years in Brixham.

Harold Blackmore: Silverton 1904, Blackmore began his career with Exeter City and spent five years at Bolton Wanderers before opening a butcher’s shop.

George Childs: Nympton St George 1857, one of the pioneers of football, Childs played for Oxford University in the 1880 FA Cup Final. He went on to become a church vicar.

Antonio Corbisiero: Exmouth 1984, midfielder Corbisiero was a trainee at Swansea City but played most of his career in the Welsh League. He is now the manager of Aberystwyth Town.

Aaron Dawson: Exmouth 1992, the versatile Dawson enjoyed spells with Exeter, Torquay and Tiverton and now plies his trade with Vauxhall Motors in the Northern Premier Division.

Derek Digby: Teignmouth 1931, Digby progressed from Dawlish Town to Exeter City and then over 200 appearances for Southampton, where he was known for being ‘quick on his toes’.

Thomas Digby: Bideford 1919, Digby played for the Royal Engineers, representing them in the 1874 FA Cup Final. After serving in the Second Afghan War from 1878 – 80, he sadly died in a cycling accident near Westward Ho! Golf Course.

David Downing: Bideford 1969, striker Downing played briefly for York City and then Goole Town.

Dick Ebdon: Ottery St Mary 1913, ‘Digger’ Ebdon moved from local football at Ottery to spending more than a decade with Exeter City, plus a brief stint with Torquay.

Mark Ellis: Kingsbridge 1988, Ellis started his career with Bolton but it was at Torquay he became a star. He has since represented the likes of Forest Green, Crewe, Shrewsbury, Carlisle and Tranmere, and now a goalscoring defender at Chorley.

Alex Fletcher: Newton Abbot 1999, striker Fletcher came through the ranks at Argyle and had a loan spell with Torquay. He suffered a serious head injury after crashing into advertising hoardings at Bath City and was forced to retire last summer.

Sam Gallagher: Crediton 1995, forward Gallagher moved from Argyle to Southampton as a junior but made his Football League mark in five years with Blackburn. The former England youth international now plays for Stoke City.

Dan Gosling: Brixham 1990, a prodigy at Argyle, midfielder Gosling made his pro debut at the age of just 16 and was sold to Everton for £2m in 2008, scoring the winner in a Merseyside derby. He also played for Newcastle and Bournemouth, now a coach at Watford.

Keith Harvey: Crediton 1934, a legend of Exeter City, Harvey spent almost two decades with the Grecians and ranks at number two in their all-time appearance list with 483 games to his name. Harvey later worked as a coach for the club, sadly leaving us in 2018.

Kevin Hill: Exeter 1976, plucked from non-league football at Torrington, the energy and exuberance of Hill made him a legend at Torquay United, where he holds the appearance-record of 474 outings. Hill is now the long-serving manager of Exmouth Town.

Jack Hillman: Tavistock 1871, Hillman was playing for Plymouth Argyle reserves when he was picked up by Burnley. Known as ‘Happy Jack’, the talented goalkeeper signed for Everton and Dundee. He earned one England cap against Ireland in 1899 but was later banned from football for a bonus scandal at Manchester City.  

Matthew Hockley: Paignton 1982, the homegrown hero Hockley was one of the finest defenders ever to represent Torquay United and part of the great side built by Leroy Rosenior. He featured for Bideford in his later career.

Wayne Hockley: Paignton 1978, Hockley made a couple of appearances for Torquay in the 1996-97 season.

Peter Hooper: Teignmouth 1933, Hooper was known for his thunderbolt shooting and he was snapped up from Dawlish Town by Bristol Rovers. He spent a decade with the Pirates and also played for Cardiff and Bristol City, plus one international cap for Kenya. He later worked as a landlord and probation assistant in Barnstaple.

William Horne: Plymouth 1885, goalkeeper Horne fought in the Boer War before returning to football with Argyle and Fulham. He came back to Home Park in 1907 and made a total of 245 appearances as one of Plymouth’s great goalkeepers of the early years.

Martin Horsell: Paignton 1986, goalkeeper Horsell was picked up by Argyle while playing for KEVICC school in Totnes. He moved on to Bristol Rovers and briefly Torquay before slipping into non-league football.

Stan Hurst: Crediton 1911, Hurst progressed from local football to Exeter City, where he became a regular goalscorer. Hurst’s career took him to Watford, Brighton and Aldershot before leaving us in 1993.

Gus Huxford: Brixham 1889, Huxford played as a winger for Grimsby Town, Goole Town, Castleford Town and Worksop.

Matt Jay: Torbay 1996, educated at South Dartmoor College alongside fellow footballers Ollie Watkins and Jamie Reid, Jay emerged from the Exeter Academy as a talented and creative midfielder. After a decade with the Grecians, he moved to Colchester United and signed for Torquay last month.

Phil Joslin: Kingsteignton 1916, goalkeeper Joslin was the first-choice custodian for Torquay United until the outbreak of World War Two, during which he guested for Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham. After a return to Torquay, he signed for Cardiff City in 1948, but his career was ended by injury.

Henry Joynt: St Giles on the Heat 1931, Joynt played football for Oxford University and rugby for South India, but he was best known as a cricketer for Dorset in the Minor Counties.

Harry Kite: Crediton 2000, midfielder Kite is another graduate of the Exeter Academy. He left the Grecians last season and has previously spent time on loan with Dorchester and Taunton.

Neil Langman: Tavistock 1932, a superb footballer for Plymouth Argyle, Langman’s goalscoring ratio was around one every two games. His goals for the Greens prompted a move to Colchester and he later played for Barnstaple Town in local football.

Ryan Law: Kingsteignton 1999, an Argyle product, he is the son of former Torquay forward and current Plymouth physio Gareth Law. The left-back famously scored the winning goal for Argyle in an FA Cup game at Birmingham and had time on loan with Torquay. He now plays for Truro City.

To come next week: Ian Leigh, George Ley, Leandra Little, Mark Loram, Sam Malsom, Nicky Marker, Jim McNichol, Louis Morison, Marcus Murphy, Pat Parker, Robbie Pethick, Jason Pope, Jamie Reid, Arthur Rhodes, Connor Riley-Lowe, Cameron Sangster, Gary Sawyer, Gary Smart, Jack Sparkes, George Stabb, Adam Stansfield, Jay Stansfield, Luke Summerfield, Mike Thresher, Jeffrey Tolchard, Ollie Tomlinson, Peter Wakeham, Ollie Watkins, Kevin Wills, Craig Woodman, Martin Worthington, Jim Wright, Paul Wyatt, Ashley Yeoman.

Editor’s Note: We know there are loads of Devon footballers missing, blame the Wikipedia page for slightly soiling our bit of listicle fun.