STEVE DEATH DID NOT WANT to play. He was in dispute with Reading over his wages and sat in his flat next to Elm Park, his faithful lurcher at his side, as the team coach left for Gillingham. Only when David Downs, the club historian, and David Dibben, the Reading Evening Post reporter, came a-knocking was Death persuaded that it might be for the best that he travelled to Kent.

Off they sped, Dibben’s driving more erratic than usual. “Stop! We’ll have to go back,” Death said. “Why?” Downs asked. “Because I’ve forgotten my fags.” Death was reunited with his cigarettes and went on to give a masterly display at the Priestfield Stadium. “It was typical Steve,” Downs reflected. “After a pre-match diet of one cup of tea, umpteen ciggies and a hair-raising dash through the traffic, he was superb.”

Death, aged 54, died last month after a long illness. Yet the quirky legend of the Little Big Man, the 5ft 7in goalkeeper who shared the England Schools duties with Peter Shilton in 1965, will live on. Shy, introverted and a lover of nature, with a discreet empathy for charitable causes, he grew tall between the sticks. After his debut for Reading against Brighton & Hove Albion in 1969, he was described in the local press as “an insignificantly built bundle of daredevil agility ”.

Ten years later he set a Football League record that stands today — 11 matches and 1,103 minutes without conceding a goal. From the moment that Bobby Hoy scored for Rochdale in the sixth minute on March 24, 1979, to when the ball bobbled over the line via the shin of Stewart Henderson, the Reading right back and player-coach, in the 29th minute against Brentford on August 18, Death remained defiant.

That an own goal should end the sequence — only Dino Zoff, for Italy, and Chris Woods, for Rangers, have bettered it — did not bother Death. He led a quiet, uncomplicated life, in which irony had no place. He did his job, he went home. Yet he stood his ground if aggrieved and held firm principles. When his testimonial match was staged against an England XI, he insisted that Sharon, his partner, paid for her ticket.

Death, a £20,000 buy from West Ham United, made 537 appearances for Reading over 12 years. He was supporters’ player of the season four times and was twice selected for the fourth division All-Star XI by his fellow professionals. In 1979, the year of his record-breaking exploits, Reading won the fourth-division title.

After retiring in 1982, Death briefly revisited his native West Suffolk before returning to Reading. He worked as a greenkeeper at Mapledurham Golf Club until he succumbed to cancer and more than 100 mourners attended his funeral, a simple service that included some of his favourite music. Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable seemed entirely appropriate.

Death’s goalless run: Fourth division, 1979: Mar 24: Rochdale (a) L 0-1; Mar 28: Grimsby Town (h) W 4-0; Mar 31: Port Vale (h) D 0-0; Apr 7: Crewe Alexandra (a) W 2-0; Apr 13: Portsmouth (h) W 2-0; Apr 14: Bournemouth (a) D 0-0; Apr 16: Aldershot (h) W 4-0; Apr 21: Hartlepool United (a) D 0-0; Apr 25: Darlington (h) W 1-0; Apr 28: Halifax Town (h) W 1-0; May 2: Wimbledon (h) W 1-0; May 5: Port Vale (a) W 3-0. Third division: Aug 18 Brentford (h) D 2-2

RUSSELL KEMPSON

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