NOT A VALENTINE'S TREAT

On the 19th December 2015, I made reference to Derek Dooley of Sheffield Wednesday, losing a leg having been one of our great goal scorers. On Valentine's Day 1953, he was in the form of his life and playing for The Owls in the First Division. In the previous season he had scored 46 times in 30 matches helping the Wednesday to a Second Divison championship by scoring nearly half their goals. 

Dooley had started his career at Sheffield YMCA, then played for Lincoln City in 1946 twice. joining Wednesday next. In two years he scored 61 goals in 62 games.

After 20 games in the First Division he had continued his form with16 goals. Against Preston, Wednesday had lost 1-0 after a Tom Finney goal, but worse to come was that Dooley was taken to hospital at the Preston Royal Infirmary with a double break of his right shinbone.

He sustained the injury colliding at Deepdale, with Preston's goalkeeper George Thompson. After the leg was reset and plastered he left hospital but complained  and a nurse, whom Dooley had playfully asked to sign his plaster cast, noticed that he couldn't feel his toes. The cast was removed and a small scratch on his leg revealed Gas gangrene had set in, which probably entered the abrasion from the soil. An anti-gangrene serum was driven to the hospital that day but it was too late and his leg had to be amputated above the knee four days later. 

When he recovered, Dooley was only 23 years old and he worked at the ground, acted as a journalist,  scouting for talent, handling the switchboard at a club director's bakery, coaching the youth team and running the club lottery. He also helps developed the new Hillsborough over 8 years.

Determined not to be regarded as an invalid, Dooley went on to manage Wednesday in 1971 but fell out with the club when he was sacked in 1973. 

In 1974 he crossed the city and saw the development of Bramall Lane becoming chairman in 1999, when he saw the Blades to return to the Premier League in 2006 and oversaw what was arguably the club's best period in the top flight.

He eventually retired with a Testimonial match between the two city clubs attracting 55,000 supporters who joined in to support him. He was the subject of Eamonn Andrews' "This is Your Life", a ring road in Sheffield was named after him, there is a flagstone dedicated to him at the City Hall "Walk of Fame", he was honoured with the MBE in 2003, Paul Vanstone sculptured a statue of Dooley at Bramall Lane in 2010 and the Wednesday Junior Academy at Crookes bears his name. He died on the 5th March 2008 at 78 years old.