Dorsett Dickie Image 4 Aston Villa 1947

Description

Brownhills, Staffordshire born wing half (initially he played as a forward) Dickie Dorsett had been with Walsall Juniors in 1936 and in December of that year signed for First Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers, making his Football League debut at Charlton Athletic in March 1938. In his fourth game he grabbed 4 goals as Wolves beat Leicester City 10-1 in April 1938. The following season, playing inside left, he second top scored with 29 goals behind Dennis Westcott as Wolves finished as League runners up for the second year running, repeating his 4 goal feat in a win over Everton in February 1939, and he scored their only goal in the 4-1 defeat by Portsmouth in the 1939 FA Cup Final at Wembley, before the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 significantly disrupted his career.

During the War, Dorsett served with the RAF and guested for Brentford, Grimsby Town, Liverpool, QPR and Southampton, for whom he made 16 appearances, scoring 23 goals. He was a member of the Wolves side that won the 1942 Football League War Cup and played 58 wartime games, scoring 40 goals.

Having returned to Molineux in the War’s aftermath and by now known as “The Brownhills Bomber”, he played a final League game for Wolves in September 1946 and joined Aston Villa for £3,000 the next month after 37 goals in 55 Wolves appearances. He converted to wing half in September 1947 initially playing right half and also appearing at left back for much of 1949 and 1950 before settling in at left half from March 1951. His career almost came to an end in 1950 when he was involved in a car crash, but he recovered and played another three seasons before retiring from the game in 1953 after 35 goals in 271 appearances for Villa. He stayed at Aston Villa coaching the club’s youth team before joining Liverpool in 1957 as assistant trainer, a job he held until 1962.

His uncles were George Dorsett and Joe Dorsett, both of whom played for West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City.

NB in the photograph taken he stands second from the right with Aston Villa forwards (l-r) John Graham, Jackie Martin, George Edwards and Leslie Smith. This photograph was taken before a 2-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park on New Year’s Day 1947.