Bert Stephens

Bert Stephens
Personal information
Full name Herbert James Stephens[1]
Date of birth (1909-05-13)13 May 1909
Place of birth Chatham, England
Date of death September 1987 (aged 78)
Place of death Thanet, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Playing position Outside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Ealing Association
1931–1935 Brentford 6 (1)
1935–1948 Brighton & Hove Albion 183 (87)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Herbert James "Bert" Stephens (13 May 1909 – September 1987) was an English professional football outside forward, best remembered for his time in the Football League with Brighton & Hove Albion. At the time of his retirement in 1948, Stephens was Brighton's second-highest goalscorer.[1]

Career

Brentford

An outside forward, Stephens began his career at amateur club Ealing Association and joined Division Three South side Brentford in 1931.[1] He made his professional debut in a 2–1 defeat to Watford on 16 April 1932.[3] He made one further appearance before the end of the 1931–32 season and spent much of his time in the reserve team, free-scoring and winning the London Combination with the side.[3][4] With Bill Lane and Jack Holliday ahead of him in the pecking order, Stephens had to wait nearly a year for his next first team appearance,[1] but had a happy return, scoring his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw with Norwich City on 15 April 1933.[5] With the Division Three South title safe, Stephens made three further appearances before the end of the 1932–33 season.[6] That season, he won another London Combination title with the reserve team.[4] Thereafter, Stephens was confined to the reserves, but had further joy, winning the 1934–35 London Challenge Cup with the side and scoring in the final versus Millwall.[1] He departed Griffin Park in the summer of 1935, having made just six appearances in four years.[7]

Brighton & Hove Albion

Stephens joined Division Three South side Brighton & Hove Albion in 1935.[8] He hit the ground running on the south coast and was Brighton's top scorer in the 1936–37 season with 26 goals in all competitions and again in 1938–39, notching 17 goals.[9] After competitive football was suspended in 1939 due to the outbreak of the Second World War, Stephens remained with the Gulls. Stephens retired in 1948, having scored 87 goals in 183 league games and at the time was Brighton's second-highest goalscorer.[1] Including his tally in wartime matches, Stephens scored 174 goals for the Gulls.[10]

Personal life

A Kent native, Stephens was born in Chatham and died in Thanet.[2][8]

Honours

Brentford Reserves

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Harefield: Yore Publications. p. 154. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  2. 1 2 Carder, Tim & Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 231. ISBN 0-9521337-1-7.
  3. 1 2 "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. pp. 82–83. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
  5. ↑ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Brentford Football Club History". brentfordfchistory.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  8. 1 2 Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 249. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  9. ↑ Carder & Harris, Albion A–Z, p. 338.
  10. ↑ "Club Records". seagulls.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2015.


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