Born in Plaistow in 1943, Brian Dear played over eight seasons for West Ham between 1962 and 1971. He was a stocky striker and scored 39 goals in 82 appearances. He made his debut away to Wolves in August 1962 but only made the first team line up two more times that season. The 1964/5 season was much more prolific for Brian, scoring 14 goals from just 15 appearances. This tally was helped considerably when he made the headlines in a match at Upton Park in 1965 when he scored five goals in just twenty minutes either side of half time against West Brom. The first goal was a tap-in in the 44th minute and he went on to score four more in the first 19 minutes of the second half. West Ham won the match 6-1.
Brian, nicknamed “Stag,” was a member of the 1965 ECWC final winning side at Wembley. He played five games in that Cup run and scored away to Lausanne in round three and in fact was probably lucky to be alive after nearly drowning in a swimming pool earlier that day. A steep descent from the shallow end to the deep end caught the non swimming Dear out, and thankfully for him Geoff Hurst was there to pull him out! Brian went on to score two more goals in the return leg and one more in the semi-final win against Zaragoza. This season was probably the best of his career but he was still very nervous about walking out at Wembley for the Final against 1860 Munich on such a big occasion. He was a big pal of Bobby Moore and Bobby tried to make him feel more at ease and settle his nerves. He was to tell Brian to “come out right behind me – you’ll be alright – plus the fact you will get your photo taken if you walk behind me!” Bobby Moore had quite a good sense of humour.
Despite scoring a goal at around every other game for the Hammers, Brian was always playing second fiddle to the likes of Hurst and Byrne and later Hurst and Peters. He was later to move out on loan to Brighton for a short spell before transferring to Fulham. He had a short spell at Millwall before re-joining West Ham in 1970. Not long after came the “Blackpool incident” where he, Bobby Moore, Jimmy Greaves, Clyde Best and club physio Rob Jenkins were found to be drinking late at a nightclub the night before a shock 3rd round Cup loss to Blackpool. Brian came on as a sub that day and it was to be the last time he played professional football. The incident was certainly blown out of all proportions but their actions were profoundly against all of manager Ron Greenwood’s principals and Dear and Greaves were both on their way out of club by seasons end. Brian ended up playing for Woodford Town before hanging up his boots.
By Brian’s own admission he “enjoyed life” more than most professional footballers. His stocky build was more often likened to being over weight and he enjoyed a beer after training and also after matches. Being left out of the team, especially if he had scored the previous week, only further demotivated him in a career where he never really cemented a first team place. His sixteen goals in 29 matches in the 1967/8 season were by far the most consistent statistics of his career. As a fan watching him, he was frustrating at times but he had the natural talent required for the top level and he certainly knew how to score goals.