Plaque to be unveiled in honour of Kenny Davenport

Details now available regarding a special plaque for the Football League's first ever goalscorer

A plaque commemorating the first ever Football League goalscorer Kenny Davenport will be unveiled in the Pikes Lane area of Bolton on Tuesday.


For over a century, it had been thought that an own goal by Aston Villa’s Gershom Cox, playing against Wolverhampton Wanderers, was the first Football League goal.


In 2013 however, research by football author Mark Metcalf and librarian Robert Boyling revealed that the kick off in that game had been delayed.


It meant that Davenport’s goal at 3.47pm on September 8, 1888 for Bolton Wanderers against Derby County was the first ever Football League goal.


Efforts to find a permanent home in the Pikes Lane area for a blue plaque dedicated to Davenport have now led a local business, the Lostock Electrical Projects Company, agreeing to have the plaque on their building on Bankfield Street. Business owner Duncan Simm, 58, is a Wanderers fan.


The plaque is to be unveiled at 5.30pm on Tuesday 22 November by Gordon Taylor of the PFA, Mark Metcalf and the Mayor of Bolton, Lynda Byrne.


The ceremony is to be overseen by the Club Chaplain and Head of the Community Trust, Phil Mason and everyone is invited to attend.


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