Vernon 'Butch' Dunn was the star centre forward for Cray Wanderers in the 1977/78 season after he had earlier had played for Aveley and Fisher Athletic. He became an instant hit with Cray fans netting 32 goals in 29 games. The Wands won the London Spartan League championship that season and switched to the Kent League the following year. Butch scored twice in Cray’s opening game before moving on to Bromley where he made his debut for the Club in September 1978.
In one of his first games he scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over Hampton at Hayes Lane. He would go on to score over 30 goals in that debut season. His 47 goals in his second season helped Bromley to promotion out of the Isthmian League Division 1 to the Premier Division for the 1980/81 season. Butch was in fact top goalscorer for the Club in the 1978-79, 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons, amounting a total of 132 goals in 208 appearances. Dunn also picked up the Player of the Season award in 1980.
Having initially put in a transfer request at the start of the 1981-82 season, Dunn continued to play for a struggling Bromley side and produced one of the moments of the season scoring what was said to have been one of the best goals ever seen at Hayes Lane. The below is an excerpt from 'A Centenary History' by Muriel V. Searle; “Butch Dunn was the scorer of this memorable goal, scored after an hour's play in the pouring rain. He blasted the ball in with such a thunderous shot that fans have talked of his great goal for many years since."
He would see out the 1981-82 season scoring 19 goals in his final
campaign as a Bromley player. An incredible goalscoring record makes him widely regarded as one of the greatest players to ever play for
Bromley Football Club. He sadly passed away on the 31st of July 2020.
W Bromley
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