There he was made to hurdle wearing army boots – training, he later claimed, which gave him his strength when jumping for crosses.
He made his debut in a 5–0 defeat to Workington in March 1960, and the following two seasons would see the club finish bottom of the Football League.
Following a rare spell out of favour that saw him placed on the transfer list, his reply was to score four goals in a 6–1 win against Southport in October 1962.
On 16 August 1969, he scored four goals, all headers, in a match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, after which Matt Busby said that Davies had no peer in Europe.
[1] By the 1970s, many clubs had learned how to cope with Davies' aerial power, and he was often neutralised by defenders playing the man rather than the ball.
His final international appearance was on 11 May 1974 in a 2–0 defeat against England, bringing his total number of caps to 29, with 9 goals scored.
Davies subsequently moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he lived in a motor-home and worked in the construction industry.
He said that his hip had been damaged due to the wear and tear of his playing days and that he could not afford the necessary surgery and would soon have to stop working.
[5] The appeal organised on his behalf by fans of Southampton was successful, enabling him to have two hip replacements and providing a surplus for his general use.