Brendon Martin Batson,
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born 6 February 1953) is an English former
footballer who played as a
defender for
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
,
Cambridge United and
West Bromwich Albion.
Club career
Born in
St. George's, Grenada
St. George's (Grenadian Creole French: ''Sen Jòj'') is the capital of Grenada. The town is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is located on a horseshoe-shaped harbour.
St. George's is a popular Caribbean tourist destinatio ...
, Batson moved with his family to
Trinidad at the age of 6 and then migrated from the
West Indies to England when he was nine years old in 1962.
Until then he had never even seen a game of football and a teacher at his school, on watching his early efforts and reflecting on his birthplace opined, "Well, perhaps
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
is your game." However, he was signed as a schoolboy by
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, and whilst at the club's academy won the
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
of
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
.
Batson signed as a professional at 17 years old at the club and eventually went on to feature for the Gunners' first team, becoming the first black player to do so. 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 manager
Ron Atkinson in
1976–77. At Cambridge Batson made a total of 163 appearances and scored six goals altogether.
When Atkinson moved to
West Bromwich Albion in 1978, he successfully encouraged Batson to follow him and team up with fellow black players
Cyrille Regis and
Laurie Cunningham, leaving in a deal worth £28,000. Although not by any means the first black footballers to play professionally in England, the players nicknamed ''Three Degrees'' by Atkinson, a reference to
contemporary vocal trio of the same name, were pioneering, iconic and extremely popular with West Brom's fans. This trio's fame is to such an extent that in 2012 plans were put forward for a statue of which would honor the footballing trio being purposely displayed in October 2014 at
The Hawthorns. The completed statue was publicly unveiled in New Square in the town on 21 May 2019.
Whilst a West Bromwich Albion player he featured in a benefit match for
Len Cantello, that saw a team of white players play against a team of black players. He played 160 games for the Baggies before his career was cut short in 1982 by a serious knee injury.
International career
Batson was capped three times for the
England B
England B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the England national football team. At times they have played other nations' full teams; they have also played matches against 'B' teams from other football associations. Si ...
team against the United States, Spain and Australia.
Administrative career
Following the end to his playing days, Batson was thereafter appointed as the deputy chief executive of the
Professional Footballers' Association in 1984. He then spent a total of 18 years in this position and remains as a trustee of the association. He later rejoined West Brom within the role of a managing director at the club, helping to form the West Bromwich Albion Former Players' Association in 2003. Batson in 2007, joined the body then known as the Football Licensing Agency (FLA) that's now entitled as the
Sports Grounds Safety Authority. He is the longest serving member of the board of the authority.
Batson was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
2001 New Year Honours
The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipient ...
and
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the
2015 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2015 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
,
both for services to football.
Personal life
Batson was married to Cecily, who died in September 2009.
Honours
Arsenal Youth
*
FA Youth Cup
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...
:
1970–71
Cambridge United
*
Fourth Division
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
:
1976–77
Individual
*
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
:
1976–77 Fourth Division
*
PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
:
1977–78 Third Division
References
Bibliography
*Bowler, D., & J. Bains (2000), ''Samba in the Smethwick End: Regis, Cunningham, Batson and the Football Revolution'',
*Paul Rees,(2014) "The Three Degrees The Men Who Changed British Football Forever"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batson, Brendon
1953 births
Living people
English footballers
Association football fullbacks
Arsenal F.C. players
Cambridge United F.C. players
West Bromwich Albion F.C. players
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
England B international footballers
Grenadian emigrants to England
Black British sportspeople
People from St. George's, Grenada
English Football League players