Dennis Burnett was born in Bermondsey in 1944 and started his career as a youth team player at West Ham United, making his first team debut in October 1965. He played 66 games in all competitions for West Ham scoring three goals.
In 1967 Dennis moved to Millwall, for £15,000, where he made over 250 appearances, taking over the captaincy whenever Harry Cripps was injured. In October 1973, for £70,000, he signed for Hull City and in 1975 he signed for Brighton & Hove Albion where he made 51 appearances until he left the club in 1977 to join St.Louis Stars in the USA.