Keeping On

The story of Eric Gill and Dave Hollins, sport's most enduring friendship | Spencer Vignes tells us about the unique friendship which inspired his new book Eric & Dave, the story of two footballers and former rivals who first met almost 70 years ago

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“You don’t make many friends in football,” says Dave Hollins matter of factly. “At least not close ones. But I’ve come to realise over the years that Eric and I are different. We’ve been through so much, both together and as individuals. And we’re still here. After all this time, getting on for almost 70 years from when we first met, we’re still here.”

IN NOVEMBER 1955, Dave, then 17, pitched up at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club on trial as a rookie goalkeeper. He impressed and was handed his first professional contract worth— stop sniggering at the back—£7.50 per week. It wasn’t long before he met the man whose job, in effect, he was there to shoot at, namely Brighton’s first-team goalkeeper Eric Gill. Despite being rivals for the same position, the two men became friends. Good friends. Later on, when Dave returned to Brighton from doing his National Service and found himself without a place to live, it was Eric and his wife Ida who put a roof over his head at the cosy guest house they ran as a sideline to Eric’s football career. Dave ended up staying the best part of two years— that’s how close they were.