Leon Vaessen
Leon Henry Vaessen (born 8 November 1940) was an English professional footballer of the 1950s and 1960s. He made over 50 appearances in The Football League.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leon Henry Vaessen | ||
| Date of birth | 8 November 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | New Cross, England | ||
| Position(s) | Half-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| ?–1958 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1958–1961 | Millwall | 26 | (2) |
| 1961–1963 | Gillingham | 29 | (0) |
| 1963–1965 | Dover | ||
| 1965–? | Crawley Town | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Playing career
Born in New Cross, he joined Chelsea as a youngster, but was not offered a professional contract.[1] In January 1958 he signed for Millwall and went on to make 26 Football League appearances for the "Lions",[2] but never established himself as a regular starter.[1] At the end of the 1960–61 season, he was transferred to Gillingham.[1] He was initially a regular in the team, but fell out of favour, playing just once in the 1962–63 season,[3] before being sold to Dover for a fee of £500.[1] His last known club was Crawley Town.[1]
Family
His mother was English and his father was Dutch.[4] His son Paul played for Arsenal but was forced to retire due to injury and fell into a life of crime and drug addiction before dying at the age of 39 in 2001.[5]
References
- Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing Ltd. p. 323. ISBN 0-7524-2243-X.
- Hugman, Barry J. (1984). Canon League Football Players' Records 1946-1984. Newnes Books. p. 486. ISBN 0-600-37318-5.
- Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. pp. 71–72. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
- Taylor, Stewart (2014). Stuck in a Moment: The Ballad of Paul Vaessen. GCR Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-909050-06-8.
- Mitchell, Kevin (17 March 2002). "The terrible death of a forgotten hero". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2010.