Dennis Heath
English footballer and manager
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dennis John Heath (28 September 1934 – 28 September 2006) was an English professional footballer and manager who made over 120 appearances as an outside right in The Football League for Brentford.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dennis John Heath[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 28 September 1934 | ||
| Place of birth | Chiswick, England | ||
| Date of death | 28 September 2006 (aged 72)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Isleworth, England[2] | ||
| 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 | |||
| Managerial career | |||
| Chertsey Town (player-manager) | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
Brentford
An outside right, Heath began his career at Acton, Brentford & Chiswick Schools' League club Alexandra Villa.[3] He was spotted by Brentford youth team manager Alf Bew at age 15.[3] Heath came through the youth ranks at Brentford and was a part of the youth team which reached the semi-finals of the 1952–53 FA Youth Cup.[4] After completing his National Service,[4] Heath made his debut at the age of 19 in a 6–4 Third Division South defeat to Southampton at The Dell on 21 August 1954.[5] Heath quickly established himself in the first team and made 39 appearances during the 1954–55 season.[5]
Heath's appearance-rate dropped off 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 the 1958–59 season.[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] He 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 and served 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 and worked 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
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 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 | 123 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 133 | 20 | ||