Dennis John Heath (28 September 1934 – 28 September 2006) 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 le ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

who made over 120 appearances as an

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

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 ...

for

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 ...

Playing career

Brentford

, Heath began his career at Acton, Brentford & Chiswick Schools' League club Alexandra Villa. He was spotted by

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

manager Alf Bew at age 15. 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 The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

. After completing his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, Heath made his debut at the age of 19 in a 6–4

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 on ...

defeat to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

at The Dell on 21 August 1954. Heath quickly established himself in the first team and made 39 appearances during the 1954–55 season. 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 Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

match against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

during the 1956–57 season), though he made 29 appearances during the 1958–59 season. Heath's final appearance for the club came in a 4–2 defeat to Newport County at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

on 29 October 1960 and he was released at the end of the 1960–61 season. He made 133 appearances and scored 20 goals during his seven-year spell with the Bees.

Non-League football

After his release from Brentford, Heath dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

and played for

Bedford Town Bedford Town Football Club is a football club based in the Borough of Bedford, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Eyrie in Cardington, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. They are full members of the Football As ...

, Trowbridge Town,

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, Chertsey Town and veterans' team Eversheds. He played for Eversheds until the age of 60.

Management career

While with Chertsey Town, Heath acted as the club's

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Personal life

Heath undertook his National Service at

Catterick Garrison Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about 10& ...

and served as a PT instructor. Along with a number of other Brentford players, Heath appeared briefly in the 1953 film ''

The Great Game The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...

''. Heath later entered the building trade and worked with his sons. He died in 2006, on his 72nd birthday. At the time of his death, he was living in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Dennis 1934 births Footballers from Chiswick English footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players 2006 deaths Bedford Town F.C. players Trowbridge Town F.C. players Southern Football League players Association football outside forwards Dover F.C. players Chertsey Town F.C. players Chertsey Town F.C. managers English football managers