Spotlight On Legendary Trainer

Imagine a Wolves without Stan Cullis and Billy Wright – all that leadership, all those trophies, all that history. If you can, you might be imagining a Wolves without Jack Davies.

Who was Jack Davies? The name might not trip off the tongue of Molineux regulars but he served the club with distinction for decades and now a book is charting his decades of loyalty as trainer.

“No previous publication has accurately recorded the length of time Jack spent at Molineux,” say the publishers. “Likewise, no-one has commented on his tremendous influence on the fortunes of the club.

“He played a major part in the transformation of Wolves’ fortunes ‘from gloom to glory’. Had it not been for him, it is possible that neither of these two legends would have played for the club.” Intriguing stuff.

‘Training with Wolves’ is the story of a man who had a fascinating story to tell through nearly 60 years of Wolves history.

The fact he served his country in World War One underlines that this book by Merv Davies, Jack’s grandson, and Tim Gibbons is one with a very long reach.

It covers the 1921, 1939, 1949 and 1960 FA Cup finals, football during World War Two, the golden years of the 1950s and right through to the late 1970s.

Among those to have helped with the anecdotes are Cullis, Wright, Mike Bailey, Derek Dougan, Geoff Palmer, Kenny Hibbitt and many more.

Bert Williams MBE wrote the foreword in 2011, three years before his death, and said: “Jack’s love of the club was obvious for all to see. Men like him do not come along very often.”

It is fitting considering Bert helped raise a staggering £200,000-plus for the Alzheimer’s Society that profits from this enterprise are also being donated to the charity.

The £15 publication contains over 200 pages and numerous previously unpublished photographs. It is due out next month and fans have the chance to have a chosen name in the back if they purchase before the end of August.

Orders requiring postage will cost an additional £3 and all purchasers should either buy through www.wolvesbooks.net, from Geoffrey Publications’ Clive Corbett at 248 Mount Pleasant, Kingswinford, DY6 9SW, or by email to gpbooks@hotmail.co.uk – with cheques made payable to C Corbett.

Tim Gibbons was the author of Wembley Wolves, the 2014 book celebrating the club’s Sherpa Van Trophy triumph.