Terence George Branston (25 July 1938 – 22 December 2010) was an English footballer, most noted as a player for Northampton Town and Luton Town.

Playing career

Joining Northampton Town in October 1958, Branston did not make his debut until 1960. The tough-tackling

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

helped Northampton sweep from Division Four to Division One in successive seasons. When Northampton started to fall back as quickly as they had emerged, Branston left to join Allan Brown's Luton Town in 1967. Branston was made club

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on arrival, and skippered Luton to the Fourth Division title during his first season with the club. He led them to a further promotion two years later, before moving on to Lincoln City. After three years with Lincoln, he moved into semi-retirement; combining his driving school in Rugby with

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 ...

Nuneaton Borough Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...

. Branston died of

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

on 22 December 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Branston, Terry 1938 births 2010 deaths English Football League players English footballers Northampton Town F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Nuneaton Borough F.C. players Association football defenders Sportspeople from Rugby, Warwickshire