Roy Bentley

Roy Thomas Frank Bentley (17 May 1924 – 20 April 2018) was an English football player and manager.

This article is about the English football player. For the article about the American poet, see Roy G Bentley.

Roy Bentley

Personal information
Full name	Roy Thomas Frank Bentley
Date of birth	(1924-05-17)17 May 1924
Place of birth	Shirehampton, England
Date of death	20 April 2018(2018-04-20) (aged 93)
Playing position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1939–1946	Bristol City	0	(0)
1946–1948	Newcastle United	48	(22)
1948–1956	Chelsea	324	(130)
1956–1960	Fulham	142	(23)
1960–1962	Queens Park Rangers	45	(0)
Total		559	(175)
National team
1949–1955	England	12	(9)
Teams managed
1963–1968	Reading
1969–1972	Swansea City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

A former forward, Bentley played 367 games for Chelsea and captained the club to their first League Championship in the 1954–55 season. He also won 12 caps for the England national side.

Personal life

Bentley was born in Shirehampton, Bristol, Gloucestershire and attended Portway Boys Secondary School.[1]

He married Violet M. Upton in 1946.[1]

Club career

Early years

Bentley served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War and afterwards played for both Bristol City and Bristol Rovers before signing for Newcastle United in 1946. He was with the club for less than two years, but formed a key part of a forward line which also included Jackie Milburn, Len Shackleton and Charlie Wayman. He reached an FA Cup semi-final with the club in the 1946–47 season, but they were defeated 4–0 by eventual winners Charlton Athletic.[2]

Chelsea

In January 1948 Bentley signed for London side Chelsea for £11,000,[3] He captained Chelsea to their first League title, in 1954–55.[4]

Having scored 150 goals in 367 appearances, Bentley was Chelsea's top goalscorer and, at the time of his death in 2018, was fifth in Chelsea's all-time goalscorers list behind Bobby Tambling, Frank Lampard, Kerry Dixon and Didier Drogba.[4]

International career

Bentley was an England international for six years, playing at the 1950 FIFA World Cup.[3]

Management

Following his retirement from playing, Bentley moved into management. He took over at Reading and later Swansea City, winning promotion to the old Third Division with the latter. He returned to Reading in 1977, this time as club secretary.

Retirement and death

Bentley lived in Chigwell, Essex during the late 1980s before relocating to Reading, Berkshire where he lived in 2014. At his death in April 2018, he was the last surviving player from England's 1950 World Cup squad.[3]

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Club

Source:[5]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bristol City	1945–46	–	0	0	6	1	0	0	6	1
Newcastle United	1946–47	Second Division	36	19	6	3	0	0	42	22
	1947–48	Second Division	12	3	0	0	0	0	12	3
	Total		48	22	6	3	0	0	54	25
Chelsea	1947–48	First Division	14	3	1	0	0	0	15	3
	1948–49	First Division	40	21	3	2	0	0	43	23
	1949–50	First Division	39	17	6	5	0	0	45	22
	1950–51	First Division	38	8	5	3	0	0	43	11
	1951–52	First Division	32	12	9	5	0	0	41	17
	1952–53	First Division	37	12	7	5	0	0	44	17
	1953–54	First Division	41	21	1	0	0	0	42	21
	1954–55	First Division	41	22	3	0	0	0	44	22
	1955–56	First Division	38	14	7	1	1	1	46	16
	1956–57	First Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	Total		324	130	42	21	1	1	367	152
Fulham	1956–57	Second Division	32	14	2	1	0	0	34	15
	1957–58	Second Division	31	7	7	1	0	0	38	8
	1958–59	Second Division	35	0	4	0	0	0	39	0
	1959–60	First Division	29	2	2	0	0	0	31	2
	1960–61	First Division	15	0	0	0	1	0	16	0
	Total		142	23	15	2	1	0	158	25
Queens Park Rangers	1961–62	Third Division	29	0	4	0	1	0	34	0
	1962–63	Third Division	16	0	2	0	0	0	18	0
	Total		45	0	6	0	1	0	52	0
Career total			559	175	75	27	3	1	637	203

International

England national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1949	1	0
1950	5	2
1951	0	0
1952	2	1
1953	0	0
1954	2	4
1955	2	2
Total[6]	12	9

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record					Ref
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Reading	1 January 1963	1 February 1969	321	136	79	106	042.4	[5]
Swansea City	7 August 1969	16 October 1972	173	66	49	58	038.2	[5]
Total			494	202	128	164	040.9

References

1. "England players: Roy Bentley". englandfootballonline. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
2. "Charlton Athletic v Newcastle United". 11v11.com. 29 March 1947. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
3. "Roy Bentley: Last surviving member of England's 1950 World Cup squad dies aged 93". BBC Sport. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
4. Khan, Shebab (20 April 2018). "Roy Bentley dead: Chelsea legend who led club to first ever trophy dies, aged 93". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
5. Roy Bentley at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
6. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Roy Bentley". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 21 April 2018.

Bibliography

• Cheshire, Scott (1998). Chelsea: An Illustrated History. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-143-5.
• Mears, Brian (2004). Chelsea: A 100-year History. Mainstream Sport. ISBN 1-84018-823-5.