Dixie Dean
|
Dean during his tenure with Everton | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Ralph Dean | ||
| Date of birth | 22 January 1907 | ||
| Place of birth | Birkenhead, England | ||
| Date of death | 1 March 1980 (aged 73) | ||
| Place of death | Goodison Park, Liverpool, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1923–1925 | Tranmere Rovers | 30 | (27) |
| 1925–1937 | Everton | 399 | (349) |
| 1938–1939 | Notts County | 9 | (3) |
| 1939 | Sligo Rovers | 7 | (10) |
| 1940 | Hurst | 2 | (1) |
| Total | 447 | (390) | |
| International career | |||
| 1927–1932 | England | 16 | (18) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward. Dean holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season in top-flight English football, with 60. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre forwards of all time and was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Born in Birkenhead, he began his career at his hometown club Tranmere Rovers, before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child. A prolific goalscorer, he was particularly known for having a penchant for scoring goals with his head, courtesy of his elevation and athleticism, as well as his powerful and accurate heading ability, which has led pundits to describe him as one of the greatest aerial specialists of all time. Dean played the majority of his career at Everton, before injuries caught up with him and he moved on to new challenges at Notts County, and eventually Sligo Rovers.
In Everton's league championship-winning season of 1927–28, Dean scored a record 60 league goals (out of the team's 102), having played in 39 of Everton's 42 games. That season, he also made his debut for England: he went on to score eighteen goals in sixteen appearances for his country.
A statue of Dean was unveiled outside Goodison Park in May 2001. A year later, he became one of 22 players inducted into the inaugural English Football Hall of Fame.