What was life like in the Bennett household back in the 1960s and early 1970s?

GARY: We both played football from an early age, and I just followed in my brother’s footsteps. It was different back then because you have academies today with a very set pathway for young players, but for us, it was a case of playing for your school, playing Saturday or Sunday mornings for your local clubs and that was it. It’s all very different today with parents picking you up, taking you to your game, watching the match and then bringing you home. When we were kids, I don’t think our parents even knew we were playing because we made our own way by getting the bus or whatever, then headed home after. It seems the days of getting their under your own steam are long gone and parental involvement today is unbelievable, and I think it’s fair to say that most parents dream about their kids being footballers. In the 1960s and 70s, it wasn’t that way at all – it was all about getting and apprenticeship or some kind of work you could earn a living from after school.

DAVE: It’s quite funny looking back because our mum and dad weren’t the most athletic-minded people – I don’t think either could even run across a road! So, it was amazing that they ended up with two sons as professional footballers. Because they weren’t that involved in our sports or progression in football as kids, we looked to Black sporting heroes as our inspiration like Muhammed Ali and Arthur Ashe – they were our idols. I could be playing football on Saturday and Sundays and I think our parents just thought I was playing out with my mates!

Where did you live and what did your parents do for a living?

GARY: Our mum, Lucilda, and dad – Zeddikiah – both worked for British Rail, and we were brought up in Longsight in Manchester, which borders Levenshulme, Rusholme and Moss Side, so we had a great and happy upbringing.

DAVE: We were lucky because we went to a good school called St John’s and I was lucky enough to get to go to what was Burnage Grammer School after that, which helped Gary get in and it meant a lot to go to a good school like that and gat a good education because it was one of the outstanding schools in the area at the time. It meant we learned to play other sports as well such as cricket and rugby, as well as football, obviously. It gave us both a great grounding, because our parents also ensured we had a loving home environment.

What is your parents’ backstory?

GARY:  My parents were born in Jamaica and were part of the Windrush generation that came over to the UK from the Caribbean to start new lives. We had a great family life and childhood. We had good neighbours, and we’d go out and play with our friends for most of the day playing football or cricket. We had other sisters – Sybil, Hermina and Pat and two more brothers – Wesley and Frankie.

DAVE: Mum and dad were trying to get our brothers and sisters over from Jamaica so there would never be more than two or three kids living at home at the same time. It was mostly just Gary and me at home, and later, our mum would try and get our brothers and sisters over to England to give them a career and a new life. My mum and dad had created a stable environment in Manchester that gave the rest of our family a foundation to build on if they wanted it. Our parents had children from other relationships back in Jamaica and they actually met each other here in Manchester, so Gary and I were their first kids together and the only ones to be born in Manchester.

So, how did you both end up at City?

DAVE: I was playing football at the weekends for my local teams. I played open-age on a Saturday, and I also played for my school and Manchester Boys, which obviously helps a lot because scouts were always watching those games. My best mate was Peter Coyne who was a fantastic schoolboy footballer who still holds the record for most England Schoolboy hat-tricks at Wembley, I think. So, to play for Manchester Boys, you had to have a bit of something about you because the city’s catchment area was so big.  I ended up having a trial at Oldham Athletic and while I was there, a City scout called Len Davies approached me and offered me a trial. I went along, had a trial and the club took me on, and Len ended up being a sort of father figure to me. I remember him coming to meet my dad and who then pointed at Gary and said, ‘Well, we’ve got another one there who is just as good!’ And that’s how my brother ended up at City as well!

GARY: I’d also come through the ranks with Manchester Boys and had played for them from a very young age. I was also at a team called Senrab – which is Barnes spelled backwards – and their history was they were a sort of feeder or nursery club for Chelsea and all the best young players played for Senrab including a lad called Alan Davies who went to Manchester United – he sadly took his life later on – and Andy May, who also went on to play for City. There was another side called Eagles, who were the nursery club of Crystal Palace, and they had players like Clive Wilson, who again went on to sign for City. It was a bit different for me, because as I was leaving school, I applied for a job and got a role at a builder’s merchants in Ashton-Under-Lyne aged 16. I was in the accountancy department, but I was offered a trial with City as well, so I had a decision to make. You could sign as a professional or play as an amateur and keep my job, but I decided to go full-time at City and played under Steve Fleet, Dave Ewing and Glyn Pardoe with Malcolm Allison and Tony book in charge of the first team. It was a great time for us because we had me, Dave, Alex Williams, Roger Palmer and Clive Wilson all in City’s youth and reserve teams at the same time. People always talk about the ‘Three Degrees’ and West Brom – Cyril Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendan Batson – but at Manchester City, we had five Black players at the Club and because we were based in the middle of Moss Side, we were seen as great role models for other Black people in the community around Maine Road.

DAVE: There was a time when it was just me and Roger [Palmer] around 1978-79 and it was very difficult to begin with, but once members of the West Indian community knew we were at City, some of them started to come and watch us play and though we had to endure racism and at some away grounds, Roger and I were starting to break down barriers, even though we didn’t know it at the time because we were just trying to make our way in the game. Then when my brother, Alex and Clive all joined the club, it was immense for the West Indian people of Moss Side – and for Manchester City, too.

How did the Moss Side community treat you?

DAVE: As I say, we didn’t realise that we were opening doors for people in Moss Side, but whenever Roger and I would go out, we’d get some nice things said to us – and sometimes not so nice – but the community as a whole were very supportive. I recall one time my dad telling me at his work that somebody came up and said, ‘Oh I hear your son is at Manchester City now playing sweeper.’ What he meant was I was there sweeping the terraces, but my dad didn’t bite, and he wouldn’t allow me to go and see this guy, telling me not to worry about it and take it in my stride like he did. What was happening, though, was more Black people were coming to watch us play at Maine Road and eventually that became even more which in hindsight was fantastic.

GARY:  I had played for Moss Side Youth Club and at that time,  I’d say almost all the team were Black players, bar one. That was another hurdle we helped clear and as my brother and Roger made their way and, Clive, Alex and myself, were emerging, I noticed whenever I went to games at Maine Road, there more and more people of colour attending – and that was rare back then.

What was it like seeing your brother become the first Black player to play for City at Wembley, Gary?

GARY: It was an amazing day. I’d been to the FA Cup semi-final against Ipswich Town at Villa Park as well. To be at Wembley and watch my brother was incredible – a dream come true, really.

DAVE: I’d never been to Wembley before I played there, so all I done was seen it on TV. It was a new experience and knowing my parents and friends were coming to watch me was a massive boost for me. I wanted to represent my family, my community and my club as best I could that day and obviously it’s something I’ll never forget.

You never got a chance in the first team Gary and moved on in 1981 – was that disappointing for you?

GARY: Yeah it was because I believed I was good enough and that I’d  get an opportunity at some stage, but when Tony Book and Malcolm Allison were sacked – and I got on really well with both of them – John Bond came in and brought in his son Kevin who played in my position – and I was told I had to leave. I was released and it turned out to be the best thing that happened to me  because I had to sort of start again and joined Cardiff which proved to be great for me. Of course, when I first left City, I didn’t know what was coming next and wondered whether that was the end for me, but thankfully, it didn’t turn out that way.

And you left not that long after Dave…

DAVE: Yeah, it was a weird situation. John Bond wasn’t around at the time and chairman Peter Swales came to me and asked if I’d do him a favour by moving to Cardiff to help his mate out for a while. Trevor Francis had joined City but was struggling with his Achilles, so it would have been between me and Kevin Reeves to cover for him, but with no agents at the time, you just sort of go with it so I went to Cardiff on the understanding I’d be coming back to City if things went well. Of course, it never happened that way and instead, the deal was made permanent.

Was it good to be back together at Cardiff?

GARY: We were going into the unknown in many ways, but Cardiff was fantastic for us. I went before my brother and the first few weeks, I just wanted to come home to Manchester, but I eventually found my feet, David arrived and we discovered there was a huge multicultural community down by the docks and we soon settled into life in the city. And just like we did at City, suddenly Cardiff had Black players Iin their team and before long, Black supporters were coming to watch us play, so I guess we were breaking down barriers there, too. In later years, did come back to City with Sunderland and scored at Maine Road, which was exciting because you always want to do well against your old club, but being released, as I say, was the best thing for me because obviously I enjoyed being at Cardiff and then went on to play for Sunderland for a long time, too.

DAVE: It goes without saying that one of the main reasons I was happy to go to Cardiff was because my brother was there and again, we didn’t understand  the impact we were having on the local community, but I was back at the club on a visit a few years again and I met the BBC sports presenter Jason Muhammed, and he told me he got into football because of me and my brother played for Cardiff and it made him follow the club and feel comfortable enough to come and watch us play.  So, as my brother says, we opened doors and broke down barriers in Cardiff as well, which obviously makes us proud.

Finally, what do celebrations like Black History Month mean to you both?

GARY: If I’m honest, Black history isn’t just about one month, it is there all the time. We celebrate Black History Month and all the events around it and both David and have a long time association with the charity Show Racism the Red Card, and celebrations like this allow us to educate and highlight issues in sport and society in general. That also allows us to open more doors, be role models and I’ve been lucky enough to gain some accolades along the way. Just look at the Sunderland side of today, with six or seven Black players in their first team, yet I was only the second Black player to ever pull on a Sunderland shirt. It goes to show you how far we’ve come, but also it makes you wonder where we’d be today of we hadn’t been the frontrunners all those years go.

DAVE: When we started out, we were playing down back entries – now we’re playing down motorways – I just hope that the Black players of today know their history and know the history of the Black players that came before them and what we went through to make it. That’s so important because they can also open the doors for the next generation and maybe in future we will see more Black managers and coaches, too. For me, it’s magnificent we have Black History Month and celebrate it, but as my brother said, it’s not only a month, it’s many years of history that we celebrate.

Feature: David Clayton