Gillingham’s greatest-ever striker has died. The club confirmed that Dave Shearer, a Scottish-born forward, passed away at 63. The club is shocked to hear that Dave Shearer, a former striker, has died.
Shearer, a Grimsby Town native, signed for the Gills in 1984. He scored 50 goals in 119 games over three years.
The club stated that they were “absolutely distraught” to hear of his death and added: “The thoughts, condolences, and prayers of everyone at Priestfield are for Dave’s family, friends, and loved ones at the time.”
Shearer ranked 21st on all-time scoring lists for the Gills. After a brief spell at Grimsby Town, Keith Peacock signed him to join the likes of Tony Cascarino, Dave Mehmet, Martin Robinson, and Terry Cochrane, his former Boro teammate.
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Dave Shearer has died at the age of 63.
Shearer was fourth in Division 3 after scoring 12 league goals in 23 games. Shearer scored a hat trick in the FA Cup against Colchester United that season. In a 5-1 league victory, he finished the campaign with a treble against Wigan Athletic.
While at the club, he formed a strong partnership with Tony Cascarino. Shearer scored nine more league goals in 1985/86 and 16 the next year.
Shearer scored five more goals at the beginning of the 1987/88 campaign before he was fired. He had 42 league goals in 82 starts during that time.
In October 1987, he left Bournemouth for PS20,000. He stayed there for a while and then went on to play football for Scunthorpe United. After he retired, he moved back to Scotland.
Shearer had moved to England earlier in his career from Clachnacuddin. He joined Middlesbrough, where he spent five years, scoring twice in his debut for the club at age 19.
Duncan, his brother, published his column in The Press & Journal on Sunday.
Duncan, a younger brother who played football in England, wrote that “it’s hard to believe” Dave (the older sibling) has passed away at 63. “My brother Dave was why I wanted to play professional football.”
Dave Shearer, a former Gillingham striker, has died at the age of63.
Inverness-born Dave started his football career at Inverness Clachnacuddin. He was a prolific goal scorer and then joined top-flight Middlesbrough. The Highland League team received PS5,000 in January 1978.
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On April 4, 1980, he made his Teessiders debut, scoring two goals against Chelsea in a 2-0 win. This was his first goal in the club in 23 league games in 97. Shearer was on loan to Division Four Wigan Athletic in March 1980. He scored nine goals in 11 games while with the Latics.
The striker was the club’s top scorer in 1982-3 with 13 cup and league goals. This was his final season before he left for Grimsby Town in 1983. He made only four appearances for the club and did not score.
In August 1984, Keith Peacock signed him to Gillingham. He teamed up with Terry Cochrane from the ‘Boro and made his debut on September 1 as a substitute. Cochrane was replaced with five minutes left. However, he did not have enough match fitness, so his appearances were limited.
“Shaky” opened his goalscoring account in the fifth match. This was his first full match for the Gills. It gave us a 1-0 lead against Leeds United at Elland Road in a League Cup tie. The hosts won 3-2 to give us an aggregate win of 5-3. Dave scored his first league goal in the 7-1 loss at York City.
Shearer was a great forward in the penalty area and made scoring easy. He played in 27 leagues and cup matches in his first season. His 16 goals included two hat-tricks in a 5-0 win against Colchester United at Layer Road and one in a 5-1 defeat of Wigan Athletic in our final home match of the season.
He was a part of all competitions from 1985-6. He scored 11 times, including a hat trick in a 5-1 win at home over Swansea. However, he didn’t score in his 13 final matches of that season. His season ended prematurely after he sustained a serious injury to his hamstring in the return match against Swansea in March 1986.
His next campaign was his most successful in terms of appearances and goals. He scored 18 times in 48 competition appearances, including the two-minute winner at Newport County’s 2-1 opening-day victory.
Shearer was featured 15 times in 1987-8. He scored five goals in four matches: one in our 8-1 win over Southend United, another at Wigan, and a brace at Chesterfield’s 10-0 thrashing. Then he scored the second goal in our 2-0 victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Dave made his last Gillingham appearance in a home 1-0 League Cup loss against Stoke in October 1987. He then joined Bournemouth for a PS20,000 fee. He had played in 119 games at Priestfield and scored 50 goals.
He is currently 21st on the club’s all-time scoring list. Four months later, he moved to Scunthorpe on a PS15,000 contract. He was then on the move again in December 1988. This time, he returned to the northeast to join Darlington for a PS10,000. He then moved to Billingham Synthonia (non-league), where Cochrane was again one of his teammates.
Shearer retired from the game and returned to Fort William, where he was a part of his Scottish heritage.
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