William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an "old fashioned" cente-forward and he held the record for the most goals scored in a single season, in the English First (Top) Division, with 60 goals. He is regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards of all time and was inducted into the English 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.
Dixie Dean is best known for his exploits during the 1927–28 season, which saw him score a record 60 league goals. He played in 39 of Everton’s 42 games that season. Everton scored 102 league goals in 1927-28 and won the title with 53 points, two points ahead of Huddersfield with 51. At that time, it was two points for a win. With three points for a win, Everton would have got 73 points.
He scored 18 goals in 16 appearances for England.
A statue of Dean was unveiled outside Goodison in May 2001. A year later, he became one of 22 players inducted into the inaugural English Football Hall of Fame. In the 1933 FA Cup Final,, played on 29th April against Manchester City, Dean became the first ever footballer to wear the number 9 shirt. The 1933 FA Cup final was the 62nd Final and the 11th played at Wembley. It was the first where the players, including goalkeepers, were issued numbers for identification. Everton were allocated numbers 1–11 and Manchester City numbers 12–22.
Everton won 3–0, with goals from Jimmy Stein, Dixie Dean and James Dunn, and won the cup for the first time since 1906.The 1933 final was the first where the players, including goalkeepers, were issued numbers for identification. Everton were allocated numbers 1–11 and Manchester City numbers 12–22.
Each team progressed through five rounds to reach the final. Everton won 3–0, with goals from Jimmy Stein, Dixie Dean and James Dunn, winning the cup for the first time since 1906.
Some said that Dean and his family disliked his nickname, Dixie, preferring people to call him "Bill" or "Billy". The popular theory regarding how Dean acquired his nickname is that he did so in his youth, perhaps due to his dark complexion and hair (which bore a resemblance to people from the South of the USA. In Dean's obituary in TheTimes, Geoffrey Green, suggested that the nickname was taken from a "Dixie" song that was popular during Dean's childhood; there was "something of the Uncle Tom about his features".
Alternatively, Tranmere Rovers club historian Gilbert Upton uncovered evidence, verified by Dean's Godmother, that the name "Dixie" was a corruption of his childhood nickname, Digsy (acquired from his approach to the children's school game of tag, where Dean would dig his fist into a school friend's back— hence "Digsy").https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=151248952864963
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