Kenneth John Stephens (born 14 November 1946) is a 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 ...
, who played in 314
Football League games for
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
,
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
,
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
, and
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
.
Career
Stephens began playing for
Speedwell School in his home town of
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
before going on to play in the
Bristol Downs League as a teenager.
He joined
West Brom as an
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
in 1962, before turning professional with them in 1964. He went on to play 22 League games for ''The Baggies'', scoring twice. After playing seven games for
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
, who he joined in 1968, he retired from football to become a
newsagent
A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency ( Australian English) or newsstand ( American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of ...
in the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
, but was tempted out of retirement to join his home town club
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...
in 1970.
He went on to play in 225 League games for Rovers and scored eleven goals in a seven-year spell with the club. He ended his League career with
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
, for whom he made 60 appearances between 1977 and 1980, then made 35 appearances for
Gloucester City in the
Southern Football League before dropping down to
non-League football to join Hanham Athletic in 1982.
He later managed Hanham
and also went on to become their chairman.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Kenny
1946 births
Living people
Footballers from Bristol
English footballers
Association football midfielders
English Football League players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Gloucester City A.F.C. players
Walsall F.C. players
Bristol Rovers F.C. players
Hereford United F.C. players
English football chairmen and investors