Dennis Leigh (footballer)

Dennis Leigh
Personal information
Full name Dennis Leigh[1]
Date of birth (1949-02-26) 26 February 1949[1]
Place of birth Barnsley, England
Playing position Left back
Youth career
– Doncaster Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1967–1968 Doncaster Rovers 37 (1)
1968–1973 Rotherham United 160 (10)
1973–1979 Lincoln City 205 (3)
1979–1981 Boston United 54 (1)
Total 456 (15)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Dennis Leigh (born 26 February 1949) is an English former professional footballer who made 402 appearances in the Football League playing for Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham Unitedl and Lincoln City.[2] He also played non-league football for Boston United.[3] He played as a left back.[2]

Life and career

Leigh was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, and began his football career as an apprentice with Doncaster Rovers. He made his debut in February 1967, initially playing on the left of midfield, and made 37 league appearances before, in February 1968, he was part of a multiple transfer in which he and Graham Watson joined fellow Fourth Division club Rotherham United while Colin Clish, Chris Rabjohn and Harold Wilcockson moved in the other direction.[4] Leigh was still just 19, and established himself gradually in the first team at left back and penalty-taker. He averaged 40 games a season over his first four full seasons, but lost his place early in 1972–73[5] and was transfer-listed.

In February 1973, Leigh became one of Graham Taylor's first signings for Lincoln City, choosing them ahead of Peterborough United.[6] He played regularly as Lincoln came close to promotion in 1974–75 and as they won the Fourth Division title the following season,[1] despite earning himself a reputation for disciplinary problems.[7] He made 229 appearances in all competitions, and left the club after their relegation back to Division Four in 1979,[1] then spending a couple of years in the Alliance Premier League with Boston United.[3]

After retiring from football, Leigh worked for the Lincolnshire Echo; in 2001, he was that newspaper's advertising manager.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Dennis Leigh". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Retrieved 10 May 2013. Season details are sourced via the Season Stats dropdown menu at the bottom right of this page. The site is partly subscription-based, but only free-access sections are used for reference. If pop-up login dialogue boxes appear, press the "Cancel" button to proceed.
  2. 1 2 "Dennis Leigh". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Boston United Roll Call". BUFC. Ken Fox. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "Dennis Leigh". doncasterrovers.co.uk. Forward Productions. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "A–Z Past Players". Rotherham United F.C. Archived from the original (MS Word document) on 8 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Hilton, Christopher (27 February 1990). "Crazy about football and his new job". Daily Express. p. 39.
  7. ↑ Steggles, Jack (15 September 1975). "Third, Fourth scene". Daily Mirror. p. 27. Lincoln ... found enough reserves of energy to win 1–0 at Huddersfield. But the performance was marred when full-back Dennis Leigh was sent off for the third time in less than twelve months.
  8. ↑ "1000-up for Taylor". BBC Sport. 23 January 2001. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
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