Dennis Gordon

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Dennis Gordon

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = Dennis William Gordon{{efn|name=BirthName|Some sources spell his name with one "n", but the index of births confirms there to be two.{{Cite web |url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=fn53wATYWP9AcozLkUn46A&scan=1 |title=Index entry |website=FreeBMD |publisher=Office for National Statistics |accessdate=6 August 2018}} His birth was registered in the district of Wolverhampton, of which Bilston formed part; sources exist for both as his birthplace.}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|6|7|df=y}}

| birth_place = Bilston, England

| death_date = {{death-date and age|May 1998|June 1924}}

| death_place = Jersey

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=11}}

| position = Outside right

| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 193?–1942 | clubs1 = Headington United

| years2 = 1946–1947 | clubs2 = Oxford City

| years3 = 1947–1952 | clubs3 = West Bromwich Albion | caps3 = 27 | goals3 = 10

| years4 = 1952–1961 | clubs4 = Brighton & Hove Albion | caps4 = 277 | goals4 = 62

| years5 = 1961–1953 | clubs5 = Guildford City

| years6 = 1963–1966 | clubs6 = Tunbridge Wells Rangers

}}

Dennis William Gordon (7 June 1924 – May 1998) was an English professional footballer who scored 72 goals from 302 Football League appearances playing for West Bromwich Albion and Brighton & Hove Albion, where he spent the majority of his career.{{cite book |last=Joyce |first=Michael |title=Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 |publisher=SoccerData |location=Nottingham |page=158 |date=2004 |isbn=978-1-899468-67-6}}

Life and career

Gordon was born in Bilston, Staffordshire.{{efn|name=BirthName}} He attended Southfield School in Oxford, and played first-team football for Headington United from the age of 14. After serving with the RAF during the Second World War, he returned to Oxford, took a job as an audit clerk in the Borough Treasurer's department,{{cite news |title=Albion defence held firm |first=Alan |last=Neale |newspaper=Sports Argus |location=Birmingham |date=10 January 1948 |page=1}} and resumed his football career with Oxford City. He was also on the books of Tottenham Hotspur as an amateur, and played for their reserves. When that registration expired at the end of the season, West Bromwich Albion signed him on amateur forms; two days later, he received a letter from Tottenham Hotspur offering him terms for the new season.{{cite news |title=A Spurs' oversight gave Albion their Gordon |first=John |last=Camkin |newspaper=Birmingham Gazette |date=3 April 1948 |page=3}} He soon made his senior debut, and over the next four and a half years he scored 10 goals from 27 league appearances. At the end of the 1951–52 season, he was placed on the transfer list.{{cite news |title=Saturday sports guide |newspaper=Birmingham Gazette |date=3 May 1952 |page=6}}

Gordon signed for Brighton & Hove Albion for a £3,500 fee. He was not a regular in his first season with the club, but missed only nine league matches over the following five years, and scored twelve goals as Brighton won the 1957–58 Third Division South title. He shared the outside-right position with Mike Tiddy for the next two seasons, and was released on a free transfer in 1961. He played non-league football for a further five years, with Guildford City and Tunbridge Wells Rangers.{{cite book |first1=Tim |last1=Carder |first2=Roger |last2=Harris |title=Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. |publisher=Goldstone Books |location=Hove |date=1997 |page=98 |isbn=978-0-9521337-1-1}}

He returned to local government work in Brighton Corporation's Housing Department. Gordon died in Jersey in May 1998 at the age of 73.{{Hugman|7470|accessdate=6 August 2018}}