| Bruce Bannister | |
| Fullname: | Bruce Ian Bannister |
| Birth Date: | 14 April 1947 |
| Birth Place: | Bradford, England |
| Position: | Striker |
| Youthclubs1: | Leeds United |
| Youthyears2: | 1963–1965 |
| Youthclubs2: | Bradford City |
| Years1: | 1965–1971 |
| Clubs1: | Bradford City |
| Caps1: | 208 |
| Goals1: | 60 |
| Years2: | 1971–1976 |
| Clubs2: | Bristol Rovers |
| Caps2: | 206 |
| Goals2: | 80 |
| Years3: | 1976–1977 |
| Clubs3: | Plymouth Argyle |
| Caps3: | 24 |
| Goals3: | 7 |
| Years4: | 1977–1980 |
| Clubs4: | Hull City |
| Caps4: | 85 |
| Goals4: | 20 |
| Years5: | 1980–1982 |
| Clubs5: | USL Dunkerque |
| Totalcaps: | 523 |
| Totalgoals: | 167 |
Bruce Ian Bannister (born 14 April 1947) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker, and is also a businessperson in sports shoe and apparel sales and distribution.
Born in Bradford, Bannister played for Leeds United, Bradford City, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Hull City and USL Dunkerque.[1] [2]
At Bradford City, he was known for scoring a "wonder goal" in 1968, an overhead kick.[3]
While at Bristol Rovers, Bannister and teammate Alan Warboys developed the 'Smash and Grab' method of football.[4]
Bannister founded Sportsshoes in 1982. In 1985, Sportsshoes launched its mail order service, and later became one of the first retailers to launch an e-commerce website.[5] The business was later taken over by Bannister's son Brett, and became an exclusively online and mail order operation.[6]