William Ralph Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980), better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean began his career with Birkenhead-based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton (the club he had supported as a child), where he became the most prolific goal-scorer in English football history. 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. He is best known for his exploits during the 1927–28 season, which saw him score 60 league goals.
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. Dean was the first Everton player to wear the number-9 shirt, and is regarded as one of the greatest pre-World War II athletes in Britain.
Read more about Dixie Dean: Early Years, International Career, Endorsements, Personal Life and Post-football Career, Death, Legacy, Career Statistics
Famous quotes containing the word dean:
“President Lowell of Harvard appealed to students ‘to prepare themselves for such services as the Governor may call upon them to render.’ Dean Greenough organized an ‘emergency committee,’ and Coach Fisher was reported by the press as having declared, ‘To hell with football if men are needed.’”
—For the State of Massachusetts, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)