Kenny Stephens
Encyclopedia
Kenneth John 'Kenny' Stephens (born 14 November 1946) is a former professional footballer, who played in 314 Football League
games for West Bromwich Albion
, Walsall
, Bristol Rovers
, and Hereford United
.
in his home town of Bristol
, before going on to play in the Bristol Downs League as a teenager.
He joined West Brom
as an apprentice
in 1962, before turning professional with them in 1964. He went on to play 22 League games for The Baggies, scoring twice. After playing seven games for Walsall
, who he joined in 1968, he hung up his boots to become a newsagent
in the West Midlands
, but was tempted out of retirement to join his home town club Bristol Rovers
in 1970. He went on to play in 225 League games for Rovers and scored eleven goals in a seven-year spell with the club. He ended his League career with Hereford United
, for whom he made 60 appearances between 1977 and 1980, before dropping down to non-League football
to join Hanham Athletic in 1982. He later managed Hanham and also went on to become their chairman.
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
games for West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
, Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
, and Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
.
Career
Stephens began playing for Speedwell SchoolBristol Brunel Academy
Bristol Brunel Academy is a school located in the Speedwell area of Bristol and named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It specialises in Communication.-History:...
in his home town of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, before going on to play in the Bristol Downs League as a teenager.
He joined West Brom
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
as an apprentice
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in 1962, before turning professional with them in 1964. He went on to play 22 League games for The Baggies, scoring twice. After playing seven games for Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, who he joined in 1968, he hung up his boots to become a newsagent
Newsagent
A newsagent's shop , newsagency or newsstand is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local interest. In Britain and Australia, these businesses are termed newsagents...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
, but was tempted out of retirement to join his home town club Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers F.C.
Bristol Rovers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Bristol, that competes in Football League Two. The team plays its home matches at the Memorial Stadium, in the Horfield area of the city....
in 1970. He went on to play in 225 League games for Rovers and scored eleven goals in a seven-year spell with the club. He ended his League career with Hereford United
Hereford United F.C.
Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...
, for whom he made 60 appearances between 1977 and 1980, before dropping down to non-League football
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
to join Hanham Athletic in 1982. He later managed Hanham and also went on to become their chairman.