Everton Legends: Dixie Dean

William Ralph Dean, more commonly known as Dixie Dean was born in Birkenhead on the 22^nd January 1907 and is, without any shadow of a doubt the greatest Everton player of all time. An image of the great man himself leading the team out of the tunnel is continually used across the club as a symbol for all that is great about the club and it’s heritage. A 10 foot high bronze statue of Dixie Dean, which was unveiled in 2001 stands at the Park End of Goodison, the end where he set a record of 60 league goals in one season. This a record that has stood for almost 90 years and will probably never be beaten.

He made his footballing debut for Tranmere Rovers reserves in late 1923. He scored frequently for the reserve team and subsequently forced himself into the first team for the 1924/25 season. The decision to promote him to the senior squad paid off straight away as Dean scored 27 goals in as many games which meant, understandably many of the country’s biggest clubs were interested in his signature. One of these clubs was Everton, the team that Dean had supported since his childhood. In March 1925 Everton paid a fee of £3,000 to bring the 18-year-old striker to Goodison Park.

The youngster made his debut on 21^st March 1925 in a 3-1 loss to Arsenal at Highbury, and saw what he believed to be a perfectly good goal disallowed – the referee claimed his effort never crossed the line. However, he wouldn’t be denied for long, scoring the first of his phenomenal 383 goals for Everton in the following match in a 2-0 home win against Aston Villa. He ended that season with an impressive 33 goals which included 3 hat tricks and the first of his many goals against rivals Liverpool.

However, Dean’s record breaking career was almost cut short when he was involved in a serious motorbike accident in Wales in the summer of 1926. After the seriousness of his injuries, Dean was told by doctors that he’d never play football again. Doctors had to insert a metal plate into his forehead, it is likely that this hugely aided Dean’s impressive heading ability. Despite being told he’d never play football again Dean was playing the following season (1926/27) and netted a very respectable 24 goals.

Them 24 goals would seem like a minor achievement though as Dixie Dean went on to score 60, yes 60 league goals the following season. This was a new record for the amount of goals in one league season in English football, it never has and surely never will be beaten. The record was set the season before when Middlesborough’s George Camsell scored 59 league goals meaning Dean would need 60 to beat the record. With 2 games to go of the 1927/28 season Everton had already won the league and Dixie Dean had scored 53 goals. This meant he needed 7 goals in the last 2 games against Burnley and Arsenal to beat the record, surely not. He netted 4 goals in a 5-3 away win against Burnley in the penultimate game of the season. He also sustained an injury in this game putting him down as a doubt for the crucial final game against Arsenal. The clubs physio stayed at Dean’s house for the following week, working day and night with barely time to sleep to make sure Dean was fit for the game where he could make history. Sure enough, he was fit. Arsenal went a goal up early on but Dean replied with 2 quick goals, one being a penalty – this all being within the first 3 minutes of the match! This meant that he had equalled Camsell’s record and had pretty much the whole match left to beat it. However, Arsenal defended well making chances for Dean a rarity. But with just under 10 minutes to go with Dixie Dean still needing a goal to beat the record, Everton won a corner. Alec Troup whipped in the corner and Dean leapt sending a bullet header past Arsenal keeper Jimmy Paterson. A late equaliser from Arsenal didn’t dampen the spirit though. He had achieved the impossible – 60 league goals – A record that will surely never be beaten. The achievement is all the more amazing when you consider less than 2 years earlier he was told his footballing career was over.

During his time with Everton he won 2 league titles and also scored against Manchester City in the FA Cup of 1933 that Everton won 3-0. The FA Cup final of 1933 was the first game in English football in which players wore numbers on the back of the shirts. Dixie Dean wore number 9 that day making him football’s first number 9 ever – setting a standard that all future wearers of the number would follow. Dean also managed to score an astonishing 37 hat tricks whilst at Everton – 30 more than our next highest hat trick scorer, Bobby Parker. Dean went on to score prolifically for the club totalling 383 Everton goals before his move to Notts County in 1938. He later played for Sligo Rovers and Hurst FC before retiring in 1941 at the age of 34. His career also bought him 16 England caps in which he scored 18 goals.

Dean sadly passed away on the 1^st March 1980 at the age of 73. He died at Goodison Park due to a heart attack shortly after the final whistle of a 2-1 loss in a Merseyside Derby – a fitting way to die for Everton’s greatest ever player?