William Ralph "Dixie" Dean (22 January 1907 – 1 March 1980) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward.

[3][4][5][6] Dean played the majority of his career at Everton before injuries caught up with him and he moved on to new challenges at Notts County, and eventually Sligo Rovers.

"[7] Dean attended Laird Street School[8] but felt he received no formal education: "My only lesson was football ...

The elder Dean later became a train driver before moving to Birkenhead to work for Wirral Railway, to be closer to his future wife (and William Jr.'s mother) Sarah.

The popular theory regarding how Dean acquired his nickname is that he did so in his youth, perhaps due to his dark complexion and hair (which bore a resemblance to people from the Southern United States).

[11] Alternatively, Tranmere Rovers club historian Gilbert Upton uncovered evidence, verified by Dean's Godmother, that the name "Dixie" was a corruption of his childhood nickname, Digsy (acquired from his approach to the children's game of tag, where Dean would dig his fist into a girl's back, hence "Digsy").

[12] He played football for Laird Street School, Moreton Bible Class, Heswall and Pensby United.

Whilst at Tranmere, he was on the receiving end of a tough challenge which resulted in him losing a testicle in a reserve game against Altrincham.

[7] Upon leaving Tranmere Rovers, secretary Bert Cooke reneged on an agreement to pay ten percent of the transfer fee to Dean.

It was a dream come true for Dean when Everton secretary Thomas H. McIntosh arranged to meet him at the Woodside Hotel in 1925.

Dean was so excited that he ran the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) distance from his home in north Birkenhead to the riverside to meet him.

[16] A motorcycling accident at Holywell in north Wales in summer 1926 left Dean with a fractured skull and jaw, and doctors were unsure whether he would be able to play again.

[16] Dean's greatest point of note is that he is still the only player in English football to score 60 league goals in one season (1927–28).

Middlesbrough's George Camsell, who holds the highest goals-to-games ratio for England, had scored 59 league goals the previous season, although this was in the Second Division.

The Times issued a statement: "Dixie Dean, the Everton and England forward appeals to the thief who robbed him of an international cap and presentation clock to return them.

His house in Caldy Road, Walton, Liverpool was entered in his absence over Christmas, and the thief left behind gold watches and jewellery (sic).

At age 32, Dean signed for Irish team Sligo Rovers in January 1939 to help the club in their FAI Cup campaign.

He made his debut in a 4–0 loss to Stalybridge Celtic; 5,600 people attended the game, paying sixpence, earning the club gate receipts of £140.

[22] Dean made his debut for the England national football team against British rivals Wales at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham in February 1927, less than a month after his 20th birthday.

His final game for England came in a 1–0 victory over Ireland in October 1932 at Blackpool's Bloomfield Road, when Dean was 25 years old.

Dean represented England sixteen times, scoring eighteen goals in nine games (including hat-tricks against Belgium and Luxembourg).

In January 1972, Dean was admitted to St Catherine's hospital in Birkenhead suffering from the effects of influenza[24] and was released a month later.

Dean died on 1 March 1980 at age 73 after suffering a heart attack at Everton's home ground Goodison Park whilst watching a match against their closest rivals, Liverpool.

[27] He was survived by his four children: William, Geoffrey, Ralph and Barbara;[28] he outlived his wife Ethel, who died of a heart attack in 1974 after 43 years of marriage.

Over 34,000 people saw teams from Scotland and England, composed of players from Everton and Liverpool, compete;[31] The "Scots", with one Englishman and one Welshman, won 3–1.

"[28] In total, Dean scored 383 goals for Everton in 433 appearances — an exceptional strike-rate which includes 37 hat-tricks, 30 in league matches.