Watmough Dickie Image 4 Preston North End 1938

Description

Sheffield born outside right Dickie Watmough began his football career in local junior football with Calverley in 1927, playing for Thackley in 1928, Greengates United in 1929 and Idle in 1930, before joining Second Division Bradford City in the summer of 1931, making his Football League debut against Bristol City in September 1931 and immediately establishing himself as a first team regular. He went on to score 26 goals in 98 appearances for The Bantams before being signed by Blackpool in October 1934. He made his debut for the club on 13th October 1934, ten games into the 1934-35 season, and scored the winning goal in Blackpool’s 2-1 victory over Norwich City at Bloomfield Road, helping them to finish in 4th place in the Second Division in his debut season at Bloomfield Road.

His career best return of 13 League goals in 1936-37 helped Blackpool to win promotion to the First Division as Second Division runners up, but the following season Watmough’s place came under pressure from Alex Munro, who was signed from Hearts. Watmough had made 14 League appearances and scored twice before he was sold to arch-rivals Preston North End in early December 1937, in an exchange deal that brought Frank O’Donnell to Blackpool and also took Jim McIntosh to Deepdale. In total he scored 35 goals in 105 appearances for The Seasiders.

At Preston he went straight into the team and played in 6 FA Cup ties as Preston returned to Wembley, having been beaten in the 1937 FA Cup Final, this time beating Huddersfield Town in extra time courtesy of a George Mutch penalty. However Watmough only played twice more for Preston, totalling 4 goals in 26 appearances by the end of the season, and never played for the club again (or any other club, retiring through injury?). After retirement he scouted for Bradford Park Avenue.

Watmough was also a decent cricketer and played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s Second XI in the 1932 Minor Counties Cricket Championship and was once selected as twelfth man for the First XI.

NB in the photograph he celebrates after the 1938 FA Cup Final between Bill Shankly and captain Tom Smith, with Frank Gallimore to the far right of the photograph.