Jock Dodds
Encyclopedia
Ephraim "Jock" Dodds was a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 professional football player. He played in the 1936 FA Cup Final
1936 FA Cup Final
The 1936 FA Cup Final was a football match between by Arsenal and Sheffield United on 25 April 1936 at Wembley. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the 64th Cup final, and the fourteenth at Wembley.Each team received a...

, and, at the time of his death, he was the oldest surviving player to have played in a final at Wembley Stadium.

Playing career

Dodds was born in Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...

. His father died when he was two years old. His family moved to Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

 in 1927 after his mother remarried. Four years later, at the age of 16, he began his career at First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 as a centre forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

.

In 1934, after just two years with the Terriers, and after a short spell with Lincoln City
Lincoln City F.C.
Lincoln City Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The club are currently members of the Conference National in 2011–12 following relegation from the Football League....

, he took a free transfer to Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

  Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

. Dodds later became the Blades' leading scorer for four successive seasons, netting a total of 130 goals in just 203 appearances.

His debut came on 15 September 1934, against Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...

 but despite playing and scoring regularly in the following months, the club was unconvinced that he was yet of first-team quality. The club made an enquiry into the return of former player Jimmy Dunne
Jimmy Dunne
James Dunne , commonly referred to as Jimmy Dunne, was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Southampton...

, who found himself out of favour at Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 after he had been sold, but this came to nothing due to a cartilage
Cartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...

 injury. Dodds secured his position by scoring four goals in the next game, a 6-1 victory against Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

 on 16 February 1935. Dodds' prolific goalscoring helped the club reached the 1936 FA Cup Final. Dodds almost scored in the final, hitting the crossbar with a header. It was said by Ernest Jackson
Ernest Jackson
Ernest Jackson was a former footballer. He played as a right-half.Ernest Jackson joined Sheffield United from local amateur side Atlas & Norfolk F.C in 1932...

 that he would have scored nine times out of ten from such a position and Dodds himself claimed that he had been pushed in the back by Wilf Copping
Wilf Copping
Wilfred "Wilf" Copping was an English footballer who played for Leeds United, Arsenal and the England national team.-Leeds United:...

. United ultimately lost the final to Arsenal, 1-0, thanks to a goal by Ted Drake
Ted Drake
Edward Joseph "Ted" Drake was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as well as five caps for England. He was also a cricketer, but only ever played sparingly...



Big, strong and quick, Dodds worked hard at his game and was duly rewarded. His 100th league goal came in his 154th appearance, against Tottenham Hotspur on 12 September 1938. His last appearance for the Blades came against city rivals Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 on 4 March 1939.

Dodds moved to First Division Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

 in March 1939 for £10,000, citing family reasons as the source of his transfer request. At the time it was the second highest transfer fee, to the record fee of £14,000 paid to Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

 by Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 for Bryn Jones. Dodds agreed terms of £6 a week plus a £2 bonus for every first-team appearance.

On his move to Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

 Dodds later said, "It was a lovely sunny day and after the sooty streets of Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 I remember thinking it was like coming to paradise." He made his Seasiders debut on 11 March 1939, in a defeat at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

, scoring Blackpool's only goal. He went on to score four in a home win over Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 and quickly became a favourite. The Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 intervened, and the Football League programme was abandoned. Dodds joined the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

, and was stationed in Blackpool as a PT instructor. He continued to play for Blackpool, with most of his goals in the war years coming in regional competitions. In the North Regional League, he scored 65 goals in 1941-2, and then 47 goals in 1942-3. In 1943, Blackpool beat Sheffield Wednesday over two legs to win the League Cup North, and then defeated League Cup South champions Arsenal 4-2, mainly thanks to right winger Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...

. He scored eight goals against Stockport County
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...

 in 1941, and seven goals against Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...

 in 1942, including a hat-trick in just 2½ minutes. For over 60 years it stood as the fastest hat-trick in the Football League, before James Hayter
James Hayter (footballer)
James Edward Hayter is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Doncaster Rovers.-Bournemouth:...

 bettered it by ten seconds in 2004.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Dodds played guest matches for Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

 and West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

.

In seven years at Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...

, Dodds scored well over 200 goals, including 66 in 1941-2
1941-42 in English football
The 1941–42 season was the third season of special wartime football in England during World War II.-Overview:Between 1939 and 1946 normal competitive football was suspended in England. Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players...

 alone.

He signed for Irish side, Shamrock Rovers in August 1946 and scored twice on his debut at Milltown
Glenmalure Park
Glenmalure Park, often simply known as "Milltown", was a football stadium on the Southside of Dublin city in Ireland. Located in the suburb of Milltown, it was home to Shamrock Rovers from 1926 to 1987, when it was sold to property developers by the club's directors...

 on the 8th of September http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1946/0909/Pg002.html#Ar00207:6650657240AE6A71436E915A6861F569520C6951F56B720C6AE3786DE38F6D149D7014B466514769B15E. In total he played five games, two in the Dublin City Cup
Dublin City Cup
The Dublin City Cup is a defunct Irish football tournament which was played for by all League of Ireland sides . It ran from 1933 and ran uninterrupted until 1973. In season 1975/76 it was revived and played for by sides who did not reach the League of Ireland Cup quarter finals...

 and three in the League of Ireland Shield
League of Ireland Shield
The League of Ireland Shield is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972...

 scoring four goals before being sold to Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 in November 1946 for £7,750 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1946/1102/Pg002.html#Ar00221:4A72A24CA2B93CC07442B0A53C82B03FA2C849D3224CE33A3DA35340D36A3EA39341C3AA. Everton were in desperate need of a centre forward after Dixie Dean
Dixie Dean
William Ralph Dean , better known as Dixie Dean, was an English football player. Dean originally started his career with Birkenhead based Tranmere Rovers before moving on to Everton, the club he had supported as a child, where he became one of the most prolific goal-scorers in English football...

 retired and Tommy Lawton
Tommy Lawton
Thomas "Tommy" Lawton was an English association footballer who rose to fame a short time before the outbreak of the Second World War and enjoyed a successful career which lasted until well into the 1950s....

 moved to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. Dodds scored 36 goals in 55 league appearances for the Toffees in 1946-8. He was sold to his former club Lincoln City in October 1948 for £6,000, where he ended his playing career.

Sheffield United

Season Division League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals Other Apps Other Goals Total Apps Total Goals
1934–35 Division Two 28 19 0 0 2 0 30 19
1935–36 Division Two 42 33 8 4 2 3 52 40
1936–37 Division Two 39 23 3 4 2 1 44 28
1937–38 Division Two 40 21 3 1 1 1 44 23
1938–39 Division Two 29 17 3 1 1 2 33 20
Total 178 113 17 10 8 7 203 130

Everton

Season Division League Apps League Goals FA Cup Apps FA Cup Goals Total Apps Total Goals
1946–47 Division One 21 17 2 0 23 17
1947–48 Division One 27 13 1 1 28 14
1948–49 Division One 7 6 0 7 6
Total 55 36 3 1 58 37

Blackpool F.C. Hall of Fame

Dodds was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool player Jimmy Armfield
Jimmy Armfield
James Christopher "Jimmy" Armfield, CBE, DL is an English former professional football player and manager who currently works as a football pundit for BBC Radio Five Live. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool, usually at right back...

 in April 2006. Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Dodds is in the pre-1950s.

International career

Dodds made all eight of his international appearances for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 during the wartime period. On 18 April 1942, he netted a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...

 in a 5-4 win over England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 at Hampden Park
Hampden Park
Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...

 in front of a crowd of 91,000. Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...

 hit Scotland's winning goal.

Post-retirement

After retiring as a player, he tried to recruit players to go to Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

, to play in a new league outside FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 control. He was banned by the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

 in July 1950 for bringing the game into disrepute, but was later cleared. He decided against taking up positions in football management, and concentrated on business interests in Blackpool, where he said of the town in 1989, "I have lived here ever since [his move from Sheffield in 1939] and love the place."

On 22 February 1989 Dodds was given a certificate for his two-and-a-half-minute hat-trick against Tranmere Rovers in 1942, which had for many years been listed in the Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

. "I have been listed in the Guinness Book of Records for years but I never thought about a certificate until I read about a woman receiving one for being the oldest golfer to hit a hole in one. A friend wrote to the GBR asking if I could have a certificate and they sent one to me."

Dodds' wife died in 2005, and he died two years later, on 24 February 2007 at Blackpool's Victoria Hospital
Victoria Hospital (Blackpool)
Victoria Hospital is the main hospital for Blackpool and the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, England. The hospital is part of the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust....

. At the time of his death he was the oldest living FA Cup finalist, aged 91.

External links

  • Jock Dodds in the Blackpool Supporters Association Hall of Fame
  • Obituary, The Independent
    The Independent
    The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

    , 7 March 2007
  • Obituary, The Guardian
    The Guardian
    The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

    , 9 May 2007
  • Obituary, The Guardian
    The Guardian
    The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

    , 13 May 2007
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