The club was saddened to hear of the recent passing of one of its former players, Dave Fillery, who had two spells with the club at our old Sandy Lane home in the 1960s and 1970s.
Dave was a local lad who joined Tooting & Mitcham Colts straight from school. He then went on to play for Carshalton Athletic and Maidstone United before returning “home” during the 1963–64 season. Dave played mainly at left-back and made his debut on 4 March 1964 in a home Isthmian League match against Bromley, which we won 5–1.
In the 1964–65 season, he was the top appearance maker with 52 games played. Later, in the 1966–67 campaign, Dave made an incredible 71 appearances for the Terrors. He left us in September 1967 to join Epsom & Ewell, before returning in February 1971 from Maidstone United and eventually retiring in January 1972.
He made close to 200 appearances for the club, scoring two goals. His last game for us was on 8 January 1972 in a home Amateur Cup-tie against Barking.
Dave came from a footballing family. His brother, Ray, played for Tooting & Mitcham for three seasons in the 1950s. His son, Michael, was a very talented footballer who went on to play for Chelsea and several other Football League clubs. His other son, Gary, also had a brief spell with Tooting & Mitcham at the start of the 1983–84 campaign.
On a personal note, I knew Dave very well as we worked together in the same office for 18 years at Scaffolding Great Britain on Willow Lane. He was a lovely man. Everyone at Tooting & Mitcham United FC sends their sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Ian Bullock (Club Historian)