HAIR GROOMING

On May 11th 1927, the England team played Belgium in a friendly in Brussells and won 9-1. Dixie Dean of Everton scored a hat trick and during that season he scored 12 goals in 7 matches against foreign opposition.
His total record for England was played 16 games and 18 goals, his career curtailed by War and curious international selection.
Dixie hated that name and preferred to known as Bill. After an horrific motorbike accident in 1926, he recovered to return to football after three months. His club total was 379 goals in 473 league games. On one occasion he sent the Liverpool goalkeeper a bottle of aspirins before derby games, wishing him a good night's sleep-I'll keep you awake tomorrow, Dean quipped.

England's international matches were first played in 1872 but only against "home" countries until the England team first played abroad in 1908. There were friendly matches on tours to Austria, Hungary, Bohemia but only until 1909.

European matches ceased during the First World War, resuming in 1921 when another match was played against Belgium on May 21st. One England player, Benjamin Howard Baker, a goalkeeper born in Liverpool, was an Olympic high jumper, triple jumper, a pentathlete, a Wimbledon tennis player, club cricketer, water polo player and an accomplished swimmer. He had previously played for Liverpool, Everton and the Corinthians, finally turning out for Chelsea. A full back, he became a goalkeeper after suffering an ankle injury from a naval mine during the war.

In those days the talented amateur would often find himself picked for international teams. CB Fry and Max Woosnam were other well known all rounders.

England tours continued through the 1920 and 1930s to Belgium and France until the outbreak of World War 2. During May 1939 matches were played in Italy, Yugoslavia and Romania and then foreign fixtures ceased until a Victory International was played against France at Wembley on May 26th 1945.