- Brendon Batson
Infobox Football biography
playername = Brendon Batson
fullname = Brendon Martin Batson
dateofbirth = Birth date|1953|2|1
cityofbirth = St. George's
countryofbirth =Grenada
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
position =Right-back
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1971–1974
1974–1978
1978–1982
clubs = Arsenal
Cambridge United
West Bromwich Albion
caps(goals) = 010 (0)
163 (6)
172 (1)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = England B
nationalcaps(goals) = 003 (?)Brendon Martin Batson, MBE (born
1 February 1953 ) is an English formerassociation football er.Born in St. George's,
Grenada , Batson's family moved to England when he was nine. Until then he had never even seen a game of football and a teacher at this school, on watching his early efforts and reflecting on his birthplace opined "Well, perhapscricket is your game". However, he was signed as a schoolboy by Arsenal, and was the first black player to play for the Gunners' first team. In all, he made 10 appearances for Arsenal before moving to Cambridge United in 1974. He spent four years at Cambridge, captaining the side to the Fourth Division Championship under managerRon Atkinson in 1976-77. When Atkinson moved to West Bromwich Albion in 1978, he attracted Batson to follow him and to team up with fellow black playersCyrille Regis andLaurie Cunningham . Never before had an English team simultaneously fielded three black players. Although not by any means the first black footballers to play professionally in England, the "Three Degrees" (a reference toThe Three Degrees contemporary vocal trio of the same name) were an integral part of their acceptance in the English leagues.A cultured defender, Batson's career was cut short by a serious playing injury in 1982, following which he developed into an able and active administrator at the
Professional Footballers Association . He was capped three times for the England B team.He was awarded the MBE for services to football in 2000.
Bibliography
*Bowler, D & Bains, J (2000) "Samba in the Smethwick End: Regis, Cunningham, Batson and the Football Revolution" ISBN 1-84018-188-5
External links
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1092592.stm Batson awarded MBE]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
