Full name David Jonathan Wiggett Name Dave Wiggett Playing position | Place of death England | |
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Date of birth (1957-05-25)25 May 1957 Date of death 23 March 1978(1978-03-23) (aged 20) | ||
David "Dave" Wiggett (25 May 1957 – 23 March 1978) was an English footballer who played for Lincoln City and Hartlepool United before losing his life in a car crash.
Wiggett, a left-back, began his career at Graham Taylor's Lincoln City, making his first-team debut in 1974. He made only a handful of appearances for the Imps, and joined Hartlepool in October 1976, where he made his debut in a Division Four match against Colchester United. During his 18-month spell at Hartlepool, Wiggett played 60 matches for the club, and scored one goal. On 23 March 1978 Wiggett was killed in a car crash. He was a passenger in a car driven by his Hartlepool teammate Bob Newton.[1][2]
Two days after the crash, a minute of silence was observed before Hartlepool's away match against arch-rivals Darlington. Allegedly, sections of the Darlington crowd chanted throughout the minute of silence, and what followed was a very bad-tempered match Hartlepool eventually won 2-1. Following the match, Hartlepool manager Billy Horner, himself a former Darlington player, called the offending Darlo fans "a disgrace to their club, their town, and the human race".