Ben Fenton

Benny Fenton

Fenton at West Ham United in 1937
Personal information
Full name	Benjamin Robert Vincent Fenton
Date of birth	(1918-10-28)28 October 1918
Place of birth	West Ham, England
Date of death	29 July 2000(2000-07-29) (aged 81)
Place of death	Poole, England
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Inside forward, wing half
Youth career
1934–1935	Colchester Town
1935–1937	West Ham United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1937–1939	West Ham United	21	(9)
1939–1947	Millwall	20	(7)
1947–1955	Charlton Athletic	264	(22)
1955–1958	Colchester United	104	(15)
Total		409	(53)
Teams managed
1955–1963	Colchester United
1963–1964	Leyton Orient
1966–1974	Millwall
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Benjamin Robert Vincent Fenton (28 October 1918 – 29 July 2000) was an English professional football player and manager. He played for West Ham United, Millwall, Charlton Athletic and Colchester United, making over 400 appearances in the Football League for all four clubs. He managed Colchester United, Leyton Orient and spent eight years at Millwall, before holding various positions at Charlton Athletic.

Fenton represented West Ham, Essex and London as a schoolboy. He signed for Colchester Town in 1934, moving to West Ham United a year later. Fenton served in the same Territorial Army unit as his West Ham teammates and played mainly as outside-left with the east London club.

He made his professional debut for West Ham United on 9 October 1937, playing alongside his older brother Ted, as an inside forward in a match against Fulham. He played three times that season, and managed nine goals in his eighteen games in 1938-39. The two brothers played together in the same team on four occasions, the only brothers to do so at first team level for West Ham. Fenton was not retained by the club and joined Millwall in March 1939, where he was utilised as a wing half.

Fenton joined the Essex Regiment during the Second World War. He guested for former club West Ham United in November 1944, and also played for Norwich City, Manchester City, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, York City, and Cardiff City as a wartime guest.