After Dixie Dean scored his 60th goal, Thomas Keates wrote this:

Five minutes from time, we made up our minds that Dixie wasn’t going to get the other goal we longed to see. Good heavens! While the thought was formulating, Troup (the electric tripper) sent a nice dropping shot in front of goal, the ball hung in the air, Dixie’s magical head went for it and tipped it into the net.

You talk about explosions, and loud applause; we have heard many explosions, and much applause in our long pilgrimage, but, believe us, we have never heard such a prolonged roar of thundering, congratulatory applause before as to that which ascended to heaven when Dixie broke the record.

Arsenal goalkeeper Bill Paterson also spoke about conceding Dean’s 60th goal:

I looked at Dean and he seemed shocked. I smiled and, God forgive me, I went over and shook hands with him.

But what did Dixie Dean think about it?

In the 1970s, a few years before his death, he spoke to journalist John Roberts about his 60th goal, and the record-breaking season in general, 50 years on. The interview was conducted while Roberts was researching for his book “Everton: The Official Centenary History”.

Roberts first spoke about the contribution of the wingers and how big a part they played. Dean responded:

Well, as regard to wingmen, they anticipated my movement in the middle of the field knowing I’m watching them when they’ve got the ball and vice versa. They’re watching me when I’ve got the ball and I always wanted a good, fast ball because when that ball comes over at, what, say 50 miles an hour, [Bill Paterson’s] got no chance. You only need a flick and it’s in the corner.

He also said that he believed could have got a lot more than 60 goals if he had a couple of Liverpool players by his side.

I think myself that if I’d have had Peter Thompson and Ian Callaghan, who played for Liverpool, if I’d have had them in my prime, I’d have got 160. I was in a public house one night, watching them play a Spanish team at Anfield, and the balls that came over there, I’d have scored three before half-time.

[…] You can’t get away from the fact Liverpool have always been noted for goalkeepers, especially goalkeepers. Everton are always noted for centre-forwards. You can go right back in the history of them and find that’s right.

He spoke about his thoughts at the start of his record-breaking season, and the amount of money he earned:

[At the start of the season], I never really thought of breaking the record, or getting 60. I was simply in the team and we used to get £2 bonus. That’s what we were after mostly, of course. £2 for a win, £1 for a draw, and nowt if you lost.

[My wage was] £8 [a week]. When I first went to Everton, I was only on £6 because I was too young, you see. Eighteen, one of the youngsters, so it went up £1 the following season and soon afterwards, they gave me the full £8.

To put Dean’s wage into perspective, what he earned in a year, adjusted for inflation, was around the same amount Tony Hibbert earned in a week in his final year at Everton.

He soon spoke about the moment he scored THAT goal and his teammates’ reactions, which was simply a shake of the hand.

There was no pulling me about and all that in those days, there was a bit of a knock on the shoulder or a touch of the hand or something there was never any of this here love-making going on.

He also commented on the fans’ reactions:

I turned round to the referee and I said, “Look, I’m going off, if you don’t mind. Tell them I’m going off for a jimmy [going to the toilet] or something.” And he said, “Listen, if I were you, I’d be in there now.” I went off and that was that, because I would have got murdered.

[…] Two fellas came on and one of them had whiskers like, er, one of those things, you see. What do you call them? Crawling on the ground with the whiskers, spikes on… Hedgehog, Scotland Road hedgehog. […] He came trying to rub [my boots], but I had enough of that and away I went.

Dean then spoke about his injury scare during the final stages of the 1927/28 season:

[In 1928], we had quite a good, hard-working team, and I would say that there would be about 9 comedians in the team, and they were all kidding each other and that sort of thing, and, of course, [team spirit] paid off.

I wanted 9 goals in 3 matches to get 60. On the Saturday, I scored 2 against Aston Villa at Goodison. I thought to myself, “Well, blimey, I only want another 7 from 2 matches.” So when we got off to Burnley, the next thing I know the ball has started running a bit my way and before half-time, I’d scored 4. And, of course, our supporters, they were going off at the deep end. Oh, by the way, I went off the field then at half-time.

I pulled a muscle stretching, so I didn’t go on in the second half. My old trainer, Harry Cooke, from that night, from the Wednesday night, until the Friday, he was with me at home, my home in Alderley Avenue, Birkenhead. Old Harry kept putting clay plasters on [the muscle] until the Friday night, even leaving one on overnight as well. Old Harry cured it and on the Saturday, of course I was fit.

[…] We’d already won the league. But, of course, the spectators could see this other three. If I can get 2 against the Villa and 4 at Burnley, I must be able to get three against this other mob at home.

He also spoke about George Camsell (or “Geordie” as he called him):

He was a nice lad, Geordie. As a matter of fact, I got my calling-up papers for the army from the North East, up near Bishop Auckland, and it was there that I heard that old Geordie had snuffed it.

The interview then segued from the historic season into his education (or lack of it):

My only lesson was football. […] Nothing else. I used to give pens out on Friday afternoons, the ink, and the chalks. That was the only job I had in school. I never had any lessons.

His lack of education and subsequent focus on football evidently didn’t do him any harm.

The interview included John Roberts telling Dixie Dean the amount of goals he scored in each game, with Dean commenting on some of the games. Here are some relevant comments:

Game	Goals	Relevant Comments
4-0 v Sheffield Wednesday	1	“I must have had a bad day that day.”
2-2 v Newcastle	2	“That was when the Geordies invaded the pitch after the second goal. I thought they were coming for me, but they weren’t. They were putting their arms around me, saying, ‘Heya, f****** ‘ell, man, give us one like ya give us the last time.’ There’s no getting away, they’re a great crowd.”
5-2 v Manchester United	5	[Responding to Roberts claiming he scored 4 goals before half-time to unsettle Manchester United] “I wanted to go for a cup of tea!”
2-3 v Arsenal	1	“When Herbert Chapman took over [at Arsenal], he came up to Everton and put an open cheque on the table for me. […] He said that’s how he built his team. He just simply went to them and said, ‘Is there anything doing?’ If not, off he went.”
2-1 v Cardiff	2	“I nearly lost my temper with Fred Keenor, their centre-half. He called me a black head so-and-so.”

As the interview drew to a close, Roberts asked, “Do you think somebody will get more than 60 goals in a season?” Dixie Dean simply answered:

There’s only one especially who will do it… Our Lord.

Before seriously answering:

I don’t know. If I could pass on my own spirit – just the spirit – to someone who is useful, then they could creep up there somehow.

It had been 88 years and it remains unbeaten. The closest a player has come to breaking the record was Aston Villa’s Tom Waring, who scored 49 goals in the 1930/31 First Division. Outside of England, however, players did score more than 60 goals in a league season. In fact, in the same season Dixie Dean scored his 60 goals, Ayr United’s Jimmy Smith scored 66 in the Scottish Second Division – this remains a British record. Hungary’s Ferenc Deak also scored 66 goals in a league season in 1945/46. Deak also scored 59 goals in a league season three seasons later.

Dixie Dean’s record might not be a world record, but it is still a celebrated record that is unlikely to ever be beaten in English football.

« The 60th Goal