Gordon Simms

Gordon Sims spent four years at Highfield Road in the 1950s but was unable to command a regular place. He was spotted playing for Leamington works team Flavel in 1955 by City coach Ted Roberts. In a game against Aston Villa’s A team he gave the veteran Amos Moss such a roasting that Villa wanted him to go for a trial but when no one met him at the prearranged time outside Leamington Town Hall, Roberts stepped in and fixed a trial with City. In the trial, at Leek Wootton, Gordon scored the only goal and was signed on amateur forms. He was an apprentice plumber, one of three on City’s books at the time, and later taught plumbing at Mid Warwickshire College for over twenty years. Simms, a winger, scored lots of goals for the A team and made the occasional reserve team appearance before his sole first team game against Colchester. In 1958 he went into the army for his mandatory two years National Service and played regularly for a strong Army representative side which included Everton and England star Derek Temple. He was a Physical Education instructor in the Army and played some football for Notts County without appearing for the first team. After leaving City he played briefly for Nuneaton Borough before a knee injury caused him to hang his boots up. However it was only temporary – he visited the now celebrated Coventry-born acupuncturist, J R Worsley, and recovered so much that he managed a long career at Warwick Town.