Dennis Grainger

Dennis Grainger (5 March 1920 – 6 June 1986) was an English professional footballer who played as a left winger.

Dennis Grainger
Personal information
Full name Dennis Grainger[1]
Date of birth (1920-03-05)5 March 1920
Place of birth Royston, England
Date of death 6 June 1986(1986-06-06) (aged 66)
Place of death Chesterfield, England
Position(s) Left winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1936–1938 South Kirkby
1938–1945 Southport 0 (0)
→ Millwall (war guest)
1945–1947 Leeds United 37 (5)
1947–1951 Wrexham 98 (12)
1951–1952 Oldham Athletic 3 (0)
Bangor City
Total 138 (17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early career

Born in Royston,[1] Grainger began his career with South Kirkby[2] before joining Southport on trial in 1937, where his older brother Jack was an established first-team player.[3] After being initially rejected, he re-joined the club on trial in 1938, signing for them as a professional in October 1938.[4] In August 1939 he was given his Football League debut for Southport in a match against Darlington; ironically, his older brother Jack was one of the players who was dropped to accommodate his debut.[5]

Wartime football

During the war he continued to play for Southport when possible, though in 1942 it was evident that his Royal Air Force duties were getting in the way and Southport were forced to look for a replacement.[6] Where possible he combined football with his Royal Air Force commitments and made guest appearances for Millwall,[7] where his form was rewarded with a call up to the both the RAF representative football team and the FA XI.[8]

Post-war career

Following the war he transferred to Leeds United in October 1945,[1] for a "substantial" fee, at his own request.[9] When signing for Leeds in October he had already played for the club for most of the season.[10] He signed for Wrexham in November 1947,[11] before moving to Oldham Athletic in June 1951.[1] He finished his career at Bangor City.[12]

Personal life

His brother Jack and cousins Jack and Colin were also professional footballers, while another cousin Edwin Holliday played for England.[13]

References
  1. "Dennis Grainger". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. "South Kirkby Colliery (Almost) Complete History". Matthew Thomas. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  3. "Southport's New Player". Lancashire Evening Post. 5 August 1937. p. 8.
  4. "Southport In the (Transfer) Money". Liverpool Evening Express. 16 March 1939. p. 8.
  5. "Southport Surprise". Liverpool Daily Post. 24 August 1939. p. 13.
  6. "Pilot's Sports Log". Liverpool Evening Express. 21 August 1942. p. 3.
  7. "Tonight's Contests". Liverpool Echo. 23 January 1943. p. 2.
  8. "First Class Footballers Give Their Service". Chichester Observer. 20 November 1943. p. 1.
  9. "Grainger Transferred". Liverpool Evening Post. 2 October 1945. p. 4.
  10. "Helping Leeds". Yorkshire Evening Post. 2 October 1945. p. 5.
  11. "More Leeds Moves". Hull Daily Mail. 29 November 1947. p. 4.
  12. "Player profile". Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  13. "Player profile". leeds-fans.org.uk. Retrieved 13 March 2017.


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