Born Manchester, June 23, 1951.
Died Manchester, May 1, 2008, aged 56.
A mainstay and sporting personality of Manchester Jewish football and cricket, David Bloom-berg gave his all for over 40 years, first as player, then as coach and referee.
He played in the Manchester Jewish Soccer League from age 12 to 25, then played for Maccabi for 15 years. He was captain of Maccabi when it won the open league for the first time in 1979 and when it twice won the Peter Morrison trophy.
David Bloomberg (2nd from left)
He was also in the team when it won the trophy for the third time and he was three times named player of the year. He qualified as a referee in 1992 and coached a Maccabi over-16 team from 1995-98.
His cricketing career started in 1966, when he was 15. He bowled for the Manchester Jewish Cricket League. He also played for Maccabi against local sides until Maccabi’s cricket section folded in 1995. He coached under-16s, some of them King David School pupils who played for Salford.
He captained the league representative side several times and was a member of the winning side in a Jewish national knock-out competition, gaining the Stuart Neils cup. His feats regularly featured in the Jewish press.
Off the field he worked in retail, first running his father’s menswear shop until winding the business up, then as shop manager, salesman and courier.
He was educated at Prestwich Jewish Day School and Stand Grammar School for Boys, and trained in catering and hotel management at Salford College of Technology. Twice married and divorced, he was close to his brother’s family.
His sudden death at home shocked his sporting colleagues, who remembered his bowling success in last year’s league cup final. While acknowledging his age, David Bloomberg took the last wicket of South Manchester’s innings and sent the stumps flying to retain the cup for Sedgely Park.
He was praised by David Marks, secretary of the Northern Jewish Cricket League, as a “sportsman, gentleman and character”.