Full name Desmond Warren Tennant Name Des Tennant Position Defender Playing position Height 1.73 m | Place of death Wales Died January 12, 2009 Place of birth Aberdare, Wales Role Footballer | |
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Date of birth (1925-10-17)17 October 1925 Date of death 12 January 2009(2009-01-12) (aged 83) | ||
Desmond Warren "Des" Tennant (17 October 1925 – 12 January 2009) was a Welsh professional footballer who scored 40 goals from 400 appearances in the Football League playing for Brighton & Hove Albion.
Life and career
Tennant was born in Aberdare and attended the town's Boys' Grammar School, where he played both football and rugby. He began his football career as a junior with Cardiff City, when he was capped by Wales at youth level. After playing for Southern League club Barry Town, Tennant joined Brighton & Hove Albion, making his Football League debut in the 1948–49 season. Although primarily a right back, he played in a variety of positions, and was the club's top scorer in his first season with 11 goals in all competitions. Nicknamed "The Tank", he was described as a "very important player" in the Brighton team promoted to the Second Division for the first time in 1957–58, and when he retired in 1959, having lost his place to Tommy Bisset, he had played 424 matches and scored 47 goals in all competitions. He then joined the coaching staff at the club, later acting as chief scout.
After leaving football he worked for the ambulance service and kept a pub before retiring to his native South Wales, where he was a mainstay of the local choir. He was married to Eileen, and the couple had three children. In later life he suffered from motor neurone disease and Parkinson's disease, and died in 2009 at the age of 83.