In a debate over the greatest goal scorer in Harriers history, any exclusion of Paul ‘Ocker’ Davies would have to be considered treasonous.
Born and bred in Kidderminster, this striking superhero found the back of the net 297 times in 656 appearances for Harriers in a career spanning well over a decade – just as well, really – the nickname ‘Ocker’ was affectionately given to Davies as a player who was not the finest tackler in the game; the word being an old slang word for ‘hacker’!
He began his career in the Football League with Cardiff City and briefly played in Holland before returning to England to sign for his hometown club in 1983 – though it took months for his international clearance to come through.
Straight from the off in 1983-84, any season in which Ocker played a serious part saw him only deal in double figures when it came to goal scoring – 16 goals in his first campaign followed swiftly by 27 the year after. It was the kind of record that understandably alerted the attentions of many clubs higher in the footballing world, but Davies wasn’t for moving.
He became what would now be known as an England C International in 1986, thanks in no ssmall part to the grotesque tally of 44 goals in 63 games he’d netted for Harriers that term – a perfect contribution to the club’s Centenary year.
Though that was by far his greatest season in terms of goals, he regularly stayed in amongst an alarmingly good rate, the next three seasons fetching 28, 36 and 29 respectively. He remained a full part of the Harriers squad that achieved amazing things in the FA Cup during the 1993-1994 campaign, a term in which the team also won the equivalent of the National League, only to be denied promotion to the Football League due to ground grading issues.
As the 1990s rolled on, injuries played their part in Ocker featuring less and less for Harriers – indeed he made just one appearance in the 1998-1999 campaign before eventually leaving the club to join mentor Graham Allner who had previously departed to Worcester City.