Gary Bennett (footballer, born 1961)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Ernest Bennett | ||
| Date of birth | 4 December 1961 | ||
| Place of birth | Manchester, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Ashton United | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1981 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) |
| 1981–1984 | Cardiff City | 87 | (11) |
| 1984–1995 | Sunderland | 369 | (23) |
| 1995–1996 | Carlisle United | 26 | (5) |
| 1996–1998 | Scarborough | 87 | (18) |
| 1998–2000 | Darlington | 34 | (4) |
| 2001 | Worksop Town | ||
| 2001–2002 | Scarborough | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 603 | (61) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2000–2001 | Darlington | ||
| Sunderland University | |||
| Sunderland West End | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gary Ernest Bennett MBE (born 4 December 1961) is an English former professional footballer. A defender, he began his career with Manchester City before moving on to Cardiff City in 1981. In 1984, Bennett joined Sunderland and he went on to make over 350 appearances for the club, placing him fifth on the club's all-time appearance list. He left Sunderland in 1995, after eleven years at the club, and later played for Carlisle United, Scarborough and Darlington. During his career, he made over 600 appearances in the Football League, scoring 61 times.
In August 2000, he was appointed manager of Darlington, having previously been in charge of the reserve team at the club. He spent 14 months in charge of the club before returning to his role as reserve team manager but left the club in May 2002. Bennett is also actively involved with the Show Racism the Red Card campaign and was inducted into the organisation's hall of fame in 2004.