Bio:
Kenneth Graham Sansom was born in Camberwell, London on 26 September 1958; the second youngest of five children. His father, George, was an itinerant who left the family home shortly after the birth of his youngest child. His mother, Rose, was a cleaner, and moved the family to Tulse Hill in 1960. He considered himself a goalkeeper in his early years, but while playing for a youth team called Spring Park Wolves he replaced an injured teammate at left-back, and remained a full-back for the rest of his career. He attended Beaufoy Secondary school, and was capped by England schoolboys.
Sansom was scouted by Arsenal, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur, but went on to join the youth team at Crystal Palace. In 1977, he captained the Palace junior team to FA Youth Cup success while also skippering the England youth team at the same level, collecting Palace’s “Player of the Year” award in his first season.
Quick, calm, strong in the tackle and an excellent crosser of the ball, Sansom missed just one league game in a consecutive run of 156 games, starting in 1976, when Palace were in the Third Division. In the 1978–79 season Crystal Palace won the Second Division championship with Sansom integral to the young team. They were quickly labelled as the “Team of The ’80s”. Palace briefly topped the First Division at the start of the 1979–80 season although they ultimately finished in thirteenth position.
Factfile:
- Full Name: Kenneth Graham Sansom
- Position: Defender
- Date of Birth: 26.09.1958
- Birthplace: Camberwell, London
- Nation: England
- Club Career: Crystal Palace
- Period: 1975-1980
- League Games, 172
- League Goals, 3
- Previous Club: –
- Transfer Fee: –
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