David John Donaldson (born 12 November 1954) is an English former professional football right back who made 348 appearances in the Football League playing for Millwall and Cambridge United. He also played for the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League and for non-league club Royston Town, and was on the books of Arsenal without making a first-team appearance.
Career
Donaldson was born in Islington, London, and was an England schoolboy international before beginning his football career with Arsenal. He was a member of their 1971 FA Youth Cup-winning side, but never broke through to the first team. In June 1973, he transferred to Second Division club Millwall for £5,000. The team were relegated in 1975, and Donaldson helped them achieve promotion back to the Second Division in 1975–76, and made 258 appearances in all competitions over a six-and-a-half-year period. He acted as an emergency goalkeeper three times during his Millwall career. He spent the summer of 1979 with the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League, and on 5 February 1980, signed for Second Division Cambridge United for a fee of £50,000. He made 132 league appearances for Cambridge and was featured in a 2002 book, Cambridge United: 101 Golden Greats. In 1984, he moved on to Royston Town of the Isthmian League.
Personal life
After retiring from football, Donaldson ran a fish and chip shop and then worked for a food company as sales manager.
Honours
Arsenal
FA Youth Cup: 1970–71
Millwall
Football League Third Division promotion: 1975–76
References
1954 births
Living people
Footballers from Islington (district) English men's footballers England men's schools international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Arsenal F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Los Angeles Skyhawks players Cambridge United F.C. players Royston Town F.C. players English Football League players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States