West Enoch “Knocker” Image 3 Manchester United 1913

Description

Hucknall Torkard, Nottinghamshire born centre forward Enoch “Knocker” West began his football career with Linby in 1902 and after spending 1903-04 on the books of Sheffield United, without making a first team appearance for The Blades, he joined Hucknall Constitutionals in 1904. He transferred to First Division Nottingham Forest for a fee of £5 in the 1905 close season, making his Football League debut against Bury the same September, scoring 16 goals in his debut season, being second in the club’s goalscoring charts to Greville Morris. However his goals didn’t prevent Forest from being relegated at the end of the season.

In 1906-07 he scored 14 goals as Forest immediately regained their top flight status, winning the Second Division Championship. In 1907-08 and 1908-09 he was Forest’s leading goalscorer with 26 and 25 goals respectively. These included all four goals in a 4-1 win over Sunderland in November 1907 and hat-tricks against Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers, followed by a hat-trick against Leicester Fosse in a 12-0 trouncing in April 1909.

In the summer of 1910, after exactly 100 goals in 184 appearances for Forest, he transferred to Manchester United and scored 20 goals in the campaign helping the club win the 1911 League Championship, finishing as the club’s top scorer. He was a regular in the five seasons before the First World War scored 80 goals in 181 appearances during his Manchester United career, his most successful season being the 1911-12 season when he scored a total of 23 goals, followed by 22 goals in 1912-13 as United finished fourth in the League Championship, remaining as the club’s top scorer both seasons.

In 1915, he was banned for life by the Football Association, along with three other United players and four Liverpool players after being found guilty of match fixing in the Good Friday scandal. West protested his innocence, but his ban was not lifted until 1945. His suspension, which lasted 30 years, was the longest in Football League history. As he was 59 by the time his ban was lifted, he was never involved in football again.