Brian Charles Dear (born 18 September 1943) is an English former 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 le ...

who played as a striker in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

and Millwall.

Career

Dear, nicknamed ''Stag'', started his career with West Ham United, joining the club at the age of 15, and represented England Schools. He made his Hammers debut against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club ...

on 29 August 1962, and went on to make 69 league appearances for the club, scoring 33 goals. He was a member of the 1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup-winning side. He holds the record for the quickest ever five goals in an English game, 20 minutes either side of half time, in a home tie against West Brom on 16 April 1965. Out on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion, Dear managed to score five goals in seven games. He moved to

for £20,000 in 1969 but, after a short spell at Millwall, moved back to West Ham in October 1970. His second spell at Upton Park was short-lived and Dear featured in only four games during the 1970–71 season. Dear played his last game for the club on 19 December 1970, wearing the number 9 shirt against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament con ...

at Stamford Bridge. The following month, he and three West Ham teammates –

Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore (12 April 1941 – 24 February 1993) was an English professional footballer. He most notably played for West Ham United, captaining the club for more than ten years, and was the captain of the England nati ...

, Jimmy Greaves and Clyde Best, along with the club's trainer – were all fined a week's wages and banned for two games by West Ham manager

Ron Greenwood Ronald Greenwood CBE (11 November 1921 – 9 February 2006) was an English football player and manager, best known for being manager of the English national football team from 1977 until 1982, as well as being manager of West Ham United for 13 ...

after going out drinking in a nightclub until the early hours of the morning prior to an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

third-round tie against

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

. "The game was played on an awful pitch and we lost 4–0. Blackpool had a lad called Tony Green, who probably had the game of his life." The directors wanted to sack all five individuals. "I never played very much after that, and at the end of the season I was given a free transfer. I went into non-League with Woodford Town. Jimmy only had another year's contract and he too ended in non-League. Bobby played on, but they never made it easy for him and he moved to Fulham."

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...

named Dear as his toughest opponent.

After football

After retiring as a footballer and working as a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

lican for some years, he joined

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known a ...

as catering manager. Dear was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 2001 in recognition of his charity work. Dear provides a weekly column on West Ham United for the Yellow Advertiser online newspaper.

Honours

West Ham *

: 1963–64 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

: 1964–65

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dear, Brian 1943 births Living people Footballers from Plaistow, Newham English footballers Association football forwards West Ham United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Woodford Town F.C. (1937) players English Football League players Southend United F.C. non-playing staff Publicans