Denis Pring: An appreciation

Denis Pring, who has died aged 82, would tell interviewers that his forename had but one “n”, as his family “couldn’t afford two”.

Renowned for such self-deprecating humour, Denis needed plenty of it to laugh off the way ligament damage halted his Saints career after only four first-team appearances in the spring of 1959.

He was still only 20 when he left The Dell for 10 seasons at Poole, followed by spells under two ex-Saints in turn: Cliff Huxford at Basingstoke and Pat Parker at Cowes.

A sporting all-rounder who’d played football, cricket and rugby in his youth, Denis’s regular retirement sport was golf at Wellow Golf Club.