Kevin Stead (2 October 1958 – 19 January 2016) 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 ...
who played as a
defender for
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
,
Arsenal and
Oxford City
Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane.
...
.
Life and career
Stead was born in
West Ham
West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham.
The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
and began his career playing youth football as a defender with
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
, where his older brother
Micky
Micky or Mickie can be a given name, but it is most often a nickname for Michael or non-Anglo Saxon equivalents, such as "Mikhail". People with the name include:
Men
* Micky Adams (born 1961), English football manager and former player
* Micky Ari ...
was already a player.
He never made a first-team appearance for Tottenham,
[ and moved on to rivals Arsenal on a free transfer in July 1977.] He was a regular in the reserves in the Football 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 ...
, made his first-team debut on 14 October 1978, as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat away to 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 ...
in the Football League First Division, and played his second and final match for Arsenal's first team the following week, starting in a 1–0 win at home 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 ...
. He was released in September 1979, and joined Isthmian League club Oxford City
Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane.
...
.[
After retiring from football, Stead worked as a taxi-driver.][ He was married to Sharon and had two daughters.][ He died at his home in Dagenham in 2016 at the age of 57.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stead, Kevin
1958 births
2016 deaths
Footballers from the London Borough of Newham
People from West Ham
English men's footballers
Men's association football defenders
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
Arsenal F.C. players
Oxford City F.C. players
English Football League players
British taxi drivers