Dennis Heath

Dennis Heath
Personal information
Full name Dennis John Heath[1]
Date of birth (1934-09-28)28 September 1934
Place of birth Chiswick, England
Date of death 28 September 2006(2006-09-28) (aged 72)[1]
Place of death Isleworth, England[2]
Playing position Outside right
Youth career
Alexandra Villa
1949–1954 Brentford
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1954–1961 Brentford 123 (20)
1961 Bedford Town 19 (0)
Trowbridge Town
Dover
Chertsey Town
Teams managed
Chertsey Town (player-manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Dennis John Heath (28 September 1934 – 28 September 2006) was an English professional footballer and manager who played in The Football League for Brentford and made over 120 appearances for the club.

Playing career

Brentford

An outside right, Heath began his career at Acton, Brentford & Chiswick Schools' League side Alexandra Villa.[3] He was spotted by Brentford youth team manager Alf Bew at age 15.[3] Heath came through the youth ranks at the club, appearing for the Brentford youth team which reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup in 1953.[4] After completing his National Service,[4] Heath made his debut at the age of 19 in a 6–4 Division Three South defeat to Southampton at The Dell on 21 August 1954.[5] Heath quickly established himself in the first team, making 39 appearances during the 1954–55 season.[5] Heath's appearance-rate fell away over the course of his career with the Bees (mainly due to a pierced lung suffered in a reserve match against Charlton Athletic during the 1956–57 season),[3] though he made 29 appearances during 1958–59.[5] Heath's final appearance for the club came in a 4–2 defeat to Newport County at Griffin Park on 29 October 1960 and he was released at the end of the 1960–61 season.[4][5] Heath made 133 appearances and scored 20 goals during his seven-year spell with the Bees.[4]

Non-league football

After his release from Brentford, Heath dropped into non-league football and played for Bedford Town,[6][7] Trowbridge Town, Dover, Chertsey Town and veterans' team Eversheds.[4] He played for Eversheds until the age of 60.[3]

Management career

While with Chertsey Town, Heath acted as the club's player-manager.[4]

Personal life

Heath undertook his National Service at Catterick Garrison, serving as a PT instructor.[3] Along with a number of other Brentford players, Heath appeared briefly in the 1953 film The Great Game.[3] Heath later entered the building trade, working with his sons.[8] He died in 2006, on his 72nd birthday.[9] At the time of his death, he was living in Isleworth.[2]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
Brentford 1954–55[5] Third Division South 35 7 4 0 — 39 7
1955–56[5] 17 1 1 0 — 18 1
1956–57[5] 3 0 1 0 — 4 0
1957–58[5] 15 5 0 0 — 15 5
1958–59[5] Third Division 25 4 4 0 — 29 4
1959–60[5] 13 2 0 0 — 13 2
1960–61[5] 15 1 0 0 0 0 15 1
Career total 12320100 0 013320

    References

    1. 1 2 "Dennis Heath". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
    2. 1 2 "Brentford | News | Latest News | Latest News | BEES LEGEND PASSES AWAY". world.brentfordfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lane, David (2005). Cult Bees & Legends: Volume Two. Hampton Hill: Legends Publishing. pp. 8–21. ISBN 0954368282.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 74. ISBN 978-0955294914.
    5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. pp. 383–386. ISBN 0951526200.
    6. ↑ "Best Years Players F-H – bedfordoldeagles". Sites.google.com. 14 July 1948. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
    7. ↑ "1961/2 Summary – bedfordoldeagles". Sites.google.com. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
    8. ↑ "Twickenham Builders – Builders in Twickenham – Interior renovation – Painting and Decorating – Kitchens – Loft Extensions". twickenhamroadbuilders.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
    9. ↑ "BBC SPORT – Football – My Club – Brentford – Winger Heath mourned by Brentford". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.