Stan Brookes
- December 11, 2025
- 72 years
About Stan Brookes
Stan Brookes, 72, English footballer (Doncaster Rovers).
Explore other notable deaths in 2025 or deaths in December 2025.
The Deaths Archive presents
How well do you know Stan Brookes?
Explore their life. Test your knowledge. Beat the challenge.
10 questions · One legacy · How much do you really know?
Challenge your friends
Play together in real-time.
Advertisement
60 Seconds Life Story
Stanley Kevin Brookes was a dedicated English defender who left an indelible mark on football clubs in both
Stan Brookes
d. 2025
60 Seconds: Stan Brookes's Life Story
A brief documentary look at the football career and later life of English defender Stan Brookes.
Transcript
Stanley Kevin Brookes was a dedicated English defender who left an indelible mark on football clubs in both England and Belgium. Born in 1953, he began his professional journey with Doncaster Rovers in 1971. A versatile athlete, Brookes famously stepped in as goalkeeper against Exeter City to help secure a draw. His career later took him abroad to join KV Mechelen for six successful seasons. Beyond the pitch, Brookes became a public voice, discussing the long-term health risks associated with heading a ball. Having lived with Alzheimer's and dementia, he highlighted the physical toll of the beautiful game. Stan Brookes passed away on December 11, 2025, at the age of seventy-two, remembered as a committed competitor who bravely faced his final challenges.
Play the illustrated life story above, or read the full biography on this page.
Visual credits: JoshuaWoroniecki / Pixabay (Pixabay Content License) · Generated illustration by The Deaths Archive (Generated illustration, not a photograph) · Personal Photo (Public domain) · padrinan / Pixabay (Pixabay Content License) · This image is available from the City of Toronto Archives, listed under the archival citation Fonds 200, Series 1465, File 636, Item 34. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information. (Attribution) · ovalballs.com (Public domain) · Item is held by John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. (Public domain)
An illustrated presentation assembled inside the archive from the approved script and the credited images: narration, scene transitions and captions. Caption timing is estimated from the narration.
Narrated illustration. Images are sourced and credited; they are not presented as authenticated photographs.
Full Biography
|Stanley Kevin Brookes (2 February 1953 – 11 December 2025) was an English footballer who played for Doncaster Rovers and KV Mechelen as a defender.
Early life
Brookes attended the Percy Jackson Grammar School, Doncaster, 1964 entrant.
Career
Doncaster Rovers
After playing for the Doncaster Rovers Juniors, Brookes signed a professional contract with club, then in English Division 4, in February 1971. His debut came in a 1–0 home defeat to Barrow on 28 August 1971. His first goal came in the following season on 20 February in a 2–1 win at Chester City.
In April 1975, he took over in goal in a game against Exeter City. Rovers were losing 2–0 at the time and came back to draw 3–3.
He made a total of 263 League and Cup appearances, scoring 7 goals.
KV Mechelen
Along with fellow Brit Keith Coleman from West Ham, Brookes joined KV Mechelen of the Belgian Second Division for the 1977–78 season, managed by John Talbut. He stayed there for six seasons, including one in the First Division.
Death
Brookes died on 11 December 2025, at the age of 72.
A year earlier, Brookes, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, had appeared in an episode of the Belgian program Pano, which discussed the dangers of heading in football. Soon after he was diagnosed with dementia, this was linked to his footballing past as a header expert.
Honours
Doncaster Rovers
KV Mechelen
- Belgian Second Division play-offs winner 1980–81
- Belgian Second Division winner 1982–83
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Interactive
Test Your Knowledge – Trivia Challenge
How well do you know this person's life and legacy?
No account needed to play. Sign in to keep your score on the leaderboard.
Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about Stan Brookes on Amazon.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Brookes
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
People who died on December 11
Spotted an error?
Help us keep the archive accurate. Report a correction with a source.
Report an error for Stan Brookes →Advertisement