Herbert James Stephens (13 May 1909 – September 1987) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

, best remembered for his time as an

outside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. At the time of his retirement in 1948, Stephens was Brighton's second-highest goalscorer.

Career

Brentford

, Stephens began his career at amateur club Ealing Association and joined

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

club

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

in February 1931. He made just six appearances for the club and scored one goal, before his departure at the end of the 1934–35 season. Stephens spent much of his time with the club in the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

, with whom he won two

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

titles and the 1934–35

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a football tournament formerly organised by the London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974, when the tournament was disbanded. After a 16- ...

Brighton & Hove Albion

Stephens joined Third Division South club

in June 1935. He was Brighton's top scorer in the 1936–37 season, with 26 goals in all competitions and again in 1938–39, with 17 goals. After competitive football was suspended in 1939 due to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Stephens remained with the Gulls. He retired in 1948, after scoring 86 goals in 180 league games and at the time he was Brighton's second-highest goalscorer. Including his tally in wartime matches, Stephens scored 174 goals for the Gulls.

Personal life

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

native, Stephens was born in

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

and died in

Thanet Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College *Thanet Canal, ...

Career statistics

Honours

Brentford Reserves *

(2): 1931–32, 1932–33 *

(1): 1934–35

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Bert 1909 births 1987 deaths Footballers from Chatham, Kent English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Brentford F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players English Football League players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players