Les Bennett
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leslie Donald Bennett | ||
| Date of birth | 10 January 1918 | ||
| Place of birth | Wood Green, England | ||
| Date of death | 29 April 1999 (aged 81) | ||
| Place of death | Hackney, England | ||
| Position(s) | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1954 | Tottenham Hotspur | 272 | (104) |
| 1954–1955 | West Ham United | 26 | (3) |
| 1956 | Clacton Town | ? | (?) |
| 1959–1960 | Romford | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Leslie Donald Bennett (10 January 1918 – 29 April 1999) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward for Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.[1]
Football career
Bennett joined Tottenham as a junior in May 1939. He spent much of the Second World War years serving his country with the Devon Regiment[2] in Burma, India and Egypt, before making his Football League debut against Birmingham City on 31 August 1946. The quick- thinking, energetic inside forward was an important part of the push and run side of the 1950s. He made 294 appearances and scored on 124 occasions in all competitions for the club between 1946 and 1954. Bennett transferred to West Ham in December 1954 playing another 26 matches and scoring three goals. In August 1956 he became player–coach for Clacton before finishing his football career at Romford in 1959–60.[3]
Honours
Tottenham Hotspur
- Football League Second Division winner: 1949–50
- Football League First Division winner: 1950–51
- Football League First Division runner-up: 1951–52
Post-football career
Bennett managed a caravan site in Clacton and was employed as a security guard at the University of Essex before retiring. He came out of retirement in 1964 to play in a "Push and Run" XI for the John White memorial fund.[3]
References
- ^ Hugman, B. J., ed. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946-2005. ISBN 1-85291-665-6.
- ^ "On this day 10 January". whufc.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Biography". Retrieved 19 September 2008.
External links
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C A-Z of players Retrieved 29 November 2012 Archived 15 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- Les Bennett at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
- Guardian newspaper obituary Retrieved 13 May 2009
- 1918 births
- 1999 deaths
- Footballers from Wood Green
- English men's footballers
- Men's association football inside forwards
- Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
- West Ham United F.C. players
- Romford F.C. players
- Military personnel from Middlesex
- F.C. Clacton players
- English Football League players
- English football managers
- F.C. Clacton managers
- British Army personnel of World War II
- Devonshire Regiment soldiers