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Tribute to York City footballer who died on the pitch shown to his family and friends

On September 8, 1990, David Longhurst was playing for the Minstermen against Lincoln City in Bootham Crescent. During the match, he sadly passed away, it was later revealed he had a rare heart condition that went undetected for life.

The football club honoured the late attacker 25 years on from his death with the David Longhurst stand in Bootham Crescent.

After Bootham Crescent was knocked down, Persimmon Homes – who built properties in the same site – paid tribute to him by naming the sites entrance road David Longhurst Way.

David Longhurst Way, in the Bootham Crescent site (Image: Harry Booth) Now, as part of a new partnership between Persimmon Homes and York City Football Club, David’s family and friends were invited to see David’s memory kept alive in the new home of his former club.

In the Persimmon South Stand of the LNER Community Stadium, a new David Longhurst banner has been unveiled.

Before David’s family and friends travelled to see it – and watch York take on Maidenhead – they returned to the site of Bootham Crescent.

His sister, Ann Stapleton, said: “It would be nice if the ground was still here, but we understand that things move on.

Family and friends at David Longhurst Way (Image: Harry Booth) “Seeing that York has a really lovely stadium now that we’re going to later is great, and we have the road here for him.

“We’re very proud, my parents would’ve been overwhelmed. It’s quite an emotional day for us so we’re just taking it as we can and remember David.

“It’s been 34 years since David passed. I keep saying that he’s still 25, he hasn’t aged, he would’ve been 60 in January.”

Persimmon Yorkshire’s managing director, Scott Waters, said that they are “delighted” to have been able to bring David’s family and friends to both David Longhurst Way and the new banner at the stadium.

“Once we became custodians of the old Bootham Crescent ground, we always wanted to ensure that the history of the site was commemorated and that the memory of David in particular was honoured in a fitting way,” he added.

David Longhurst (Image: Supplied) Paul Sackey, commercial director at York City FC said: “Retaining a tribute to David Longhurst was a crucial part of our partnership with Persimmon which we were both instantly aligned with in the first instance.

“A massive thank you once again has to go to Persimmon, who have been fantastic to work with, and have wanted to engage with our supporters throughout the whole process.”



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