Andy Donnelly in team photo
Legendary Torquay United goalkeeper sadly passes away
Andy Donnelly, one of Torquay United's most popular goalkeepers, has died at the age of 80.
It was from Weymouth, where he had played under manager Frank O'Farrell in the early 1960s, that O'Farrell signed Lanark-born Donnelly in 1967 to replace John Dunn, who had been sold to Aston Villa for £8,000.
Over the next five years, under O'Farrell and then Allan Brown, Donnelly made 178 appearances during one of the most successful spells in Torquay's history, all of it in the old Third Division (League One).
Never the tallest of goalies, he was agile, brave and, surprisingly confident off his line, the fans nicknamed him 'Handy Andy'.
When he was finally succeeded by another Plainmoor 'great', Mike Mahoney, Donnelly emigrated to South Africa where he played for Cape Town City before eventually returning to Weymouth, from where his family announced his death at the weekend.
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