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| David Keyte |
It is with great sadness that I heard the news of David's passing after his long battle against cancer and I would like to take this opportunity of penning my own personal tribute to him. Most people will only remember David because of his involvement with Hereford United and may hold negative memories of him because of what happened following his sale of the club back in November 2014. However, David's story started a long time before that and reveals the man that not many people know.
David was first and foremost a sportsman and as a youngster, he was a great all-rounder and proud of it too. He attended Hereford Cathedral School and captained their 1st XI, before going on to captain Herefordshire schools' U-18 side. David then skippered the Gloucestershire Young Cricketers and a bright future was forecast for him in the game. However, despite also appearing for the Herefordshire U-15's at rugby, David's first love was football. He played locally and represented the HFA County U-18 side, where he played alongside Steve Emery and Gary Stevens and a young David Keyte was one of the first players to be signed by Colin Addison in 1972 for Hereford United's newly-formed Colts XI that was to play in the Herefordshire League. He scored twice in a trial at Edgar Street and went on to became a regular with the Colts, as well as turning out quite a few times for United's Reserve team but he couldn't quite make that final step up into the first team.
As an all-round sportsman, David received the accolades he thoroughly deserved, when in 1972, he was presented with the Herefordshire Young Sports' Personality of the Year award at the Town Hall by the Mayor of Hereford, Alderman Hugh Thomas.
David retained his love of Hereford United for the rest of his life and once he'd retired from a life of accountancy and school teaching, he genuinely believed that he could put something back into the club and was a proud man indeed when he became the new owner and chairman. His heart was certainly in the right place and he could be accused of many things but in my view, his worst crime was perhaps naivety. Much has been written about David over the last few years but thanks to Matt Healey's series of excellent interviews with him, history will hopefully look back more kindly on him.
Rest in Peace David.