Background
Bannan was born in Darngavel, near Airdrie in Lanarkshire.
Bannan was born in Darngavel, near Airdrie in Lanarkshire.
He played as a centre forward or inside right. He played local football around Airdrie before joining the town"s Scottish League club, Airdrieonians. Bannan made his debut in the 1948-1949 season, and in his three seasons with the club he scored 18 goals from 21 League games, as well as spending a spell on loan to Stenhousemuir.
In 1951 he moved south to play in the English Football League, signing for Wrexham of the Third Division North.
Bannan scored on his Wrexham debut, on 18 August 1951 against Chester. He became a regular in the first team, averaging 45 games a season in all competitions, and his goalscoring was such that he was their leading scorer in his second, third and fourth seasons, with 22, 18 and 19 goals respectively.
In 1955, he moved up a division to join Lincoln City. He then returned to Wrexham for another two years.
In 1958-1959, his last year with the club, he again finished as top scorer, this time with 17 goals.
Bannan finished his professional career with two seasons at Fourth Division club Barrow, who signed him for a fee of £1,500. He retired at the end of the 1960-1961 season. In 2005 he was inducted into the Wrexham Supporters Association Hall of Fame.