Rarely can the paths of two footballing brothers have crossed as frequently as Benny Fenton and his older sibling Ted. They played together at West Ham – the only brothers to do so there at the same time – before Ted embarked on a managerial career with Colchester (1946-48) and then until 1961 with the Hammers. Benny meanwhile played for Millwall, Charlton and Colchester, following his brother as player-manager of the latter from 1955.
Having lost Johnny Carey to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 1963, Orient delayed making a full-time appointment until November, then turned to Benny – whose brother was by then in charge of Southend.
It was a difficult time for the O’s, readjusting to the Second Division after the First. The ‘famous five’ defence of Charlton-Lewis-Lucas-Bishop-Lea remained intact but was conceding more goals (11 in two games at one point) and new signings goalkeeper Reg Davies and Gerry Ward were injured, as well as Dave Dunmore.
Gordon Bolland took up the scoring mantle but was sold to Norwich for a reported £34,000 in March, with 16 goals in 31 games. Meanwhile the FA Cup brought some excitement and a club record; there was an outstanding 3-2 away win against First Division Leicester and then a 1-1 draw with West Ham watched by a crowd of 34,345 – still the highest ever at Brisbane Road. In the League, however, 16th place, only four points from relegation, was a big disappointment.
In the 1964-65 campaign wing-halves Lucas and Lea were soon sold as Fenton turned to a potentially promising mix of youth (David Webb and winger Terry Price) and experience (former Ipswich League champions Andy Nelson and Ted Phillips). Phillips, who scored a hat-trick on the opening day, still had one of the hardest shots in football and contributed 13 goals in 26 games before leaving. But Fenton went too, sacked just before Christmas after one win in a dozen games and a 3-0 home defeat by Swindon in front of barely 5,000 – the lowest League gate for 11 years.
Fenton would fare better at Millwall from 1966-74. He was in charge of them for the tumultuous game at Brisbane Road in May 1972 when the Lions would be promoted to the First Division if the O’s could beat Birmingham. Thousands of fans from the Midlands and MIllwall swelled the crowd to an official 33,363, with many more forcing their way in, but Birmingham won 1-0 and went up by one point.
