Kenneth William Horne (25 June 1926 – 3 September 2015) 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

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, best remembered for his 11 years 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

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 ...

, for whom he made over 220 appearances. He was inducted into the club's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 2015.

Playing career

Early years

right half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, Horne began his career as an amateur with First Division club

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's ...

, failing to make a first team appearance and moving to fellow top-flight club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in 1947. Despite being described as "a player of great promise", an abundance of right halves at the club saw Horne right down the pecking order and he failed to make a first team appearance for the Tangerines. He departed the club in 1950.

Brentford

Horne signed for

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

in 1950 and made his debut in a 0–0 draw with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

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 18 November 1950. He made 20 appearances during the second half of the 1950–51 season and was converted into a full back. He established himself in the team during the 1951–52 season and made 38 appearances. Horne scored his only league goal for the club in a 3–3 draw with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

on 1 March 1952, after being named in the team as a

centre 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 ...

. Horne made just 10 appearances in each of the 1952–53 and 1953–54 seasons, before the Bees' relegation to the

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 ...

saw him regain a regular place in the team and he made 41 appearances during the 1954–55 season. Horne and teammates

Billy Sperrin William Thomas Sperrin (9 April 1922 – 21 June 2000) was an English football inside forward and coach. He made 100 appearances as a player for Brentford and was later a member of the coaching staff at Hillingdon Borough for 12 years. Club ...

, George Bristow and Reg Newton were rewarded for their loyalty to the Bees with a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, where ...

against an International Managers XI in 1956. Horne switched to the left back position during the 1958–59 season and made a career-high 48 appearances. Horne moved to across to right back during the 1959–60 season (making way for

Ken Coote Kenneth Alexander Coote (19 May 1928 – 2 August 2003) was an English footballer. He is best remembered for his 14 years as a full back and utility player with Brentford, for whom he tops the all-time appearances list with 559 and was also ...

) and made 22 appearances in what was to be his penultimate season at Griffin Park. Horne failed to appear at all during the 1960–61 season and departed the club at the end of the campaign, having made 239 appearances and scored one goal during his 11 years with Brentford.

Dover

Horne joined Southern League First Division club

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 ...

in 1961 and ended his career with a three-year spell.

Coaching career

Horne held youth coaching positions at

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

and Brentford and also undertook

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

work for the latter club.

Personal life

Horne was married to Joyce and during his early years with Brentford, he worked in the town's market. He was diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

at age 65 and underwent surgery which prolonged his life. Horne died on 3 September 2015, aged 89.

Career statistics

Honours

* Brentford Hall of Fame

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horne, Ken 1926 births Sportspeople from Burton upon Trent English footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Southern Football League players Dover F.C. players Association football wing halves Association football fullbacks Queens Park Rangers F.C. non-playing staff Brentford F.C. non-playing staff 2015 deaths Stapenhill F.C. players