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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ephraim Dodds | ||
| Date of birth | (1915-09-07)7 September 1915 | ||
| Place of birth | Grangemouth, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 23 February 2007(2007-02-23) (aged 91) | ||
| Place of death | Blackpool, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m)[1] | ||
| Position | Centre forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Medomsley Juniors | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1932–1934 | Huddersfield Town | 0 | (0) |
| 1934 | Lincoln City | 0 | (0) |
| 1934–1939 | Sheffield United | 178 | (113) |
| 1939–1946 | Blackpool[4] | 15 | (13) |
| 1946 | Shamrock Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| 1946–1948 | Everton | 55 | (36) |
| 1948–1950 | Lincoln City | 60 | (39) |
| Total | 308 | (201) | |
| International career | |||
| 1939–1946 | Scotland (wartime)[2][3] | 8 | (9) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ephraim "Jock"Dodds (7 September 1915 – 23 February 2007)[5] was a Scottish professionalfootballer. He played in the1936 FA Cup final, and, at the time of his death was the oldest surviving player to have played in a final atWembley Stadium.
Dodds was born inGrangemouth. His father died when he was two years old. His family moved toDurham in 1927 after his mother remarried. Four years later, at the age of 16, he began his career atFirst DivisionHuddersfield Town as acentre forward.
In 1934, after just two years with the Terriers, and via a short spell withLincoln City, he took a free transfer toSecond DivisionSheffield United. Dodds later became theBlades' leading scorer for four successive seasons, netting a total of 130 goals in just 203 appearances.
His debut came on 15 September 1934, againstBurnley but despite playing and scoring regularly in the following months, the club was unconvinced that he was yet of first-team quality. The club made an enquiry into the return of former playerJimmy Dunne, who found himself out of favour atArsenal after he had been sold, but this came to nothing due to acartilage injury. Dodds secured his position by scoring four goals in the next game, a 6–1 victory againstSouthampton on 16 February 1935. His prolific goalscoring helped the club reach the1936 FA Cup Final, in which he almost scored, hitting the crossbar with a header. It was said byErnest Jackson that he would have scored nine times out of ten from such a position and Dodds himself claimed that he had been pushed in the back byWilf Copping.[6] United ultimately lost the final to Arsenal, 1–0, thanks to a goal byTed Drake.
His 100th league goal came in his 154th appearance, againstTottenham Hotspur on 12 September 1938. His last appearance for the Blades came against city rivalsSheffield Wednesday on 4 March 1939.
Dodds moved to First DivisionBlackpool in March 1939 for £10,000,[7] citing family reasons as the source of his transfer request. At the time it was the second highest transfer fee, to the record fee of £14,000 paid toWolverhampton Wanderers byArsenal forBryn Jones. Dodds agreed terms of £6 a week plus a £2 bonus for every first-team appearance.[8]
On his move toBlackpool Dodds later said, "It was a lovely sunny day and after the sooty streets ofSheffield I remember thinking it was like coming to paradise."[9] He made hisSeasiders debut on 11 March 1939, in a defeat atCharlton Athletic, scoring Blackpool's only goal. He went on to score four in a home win overMiddlesbrough and quickly became a favourite. TheSecond World War intervened, and theFootball League programme was abandoned. Dodds joined theRoyal Air Force, and was stationed in Blackpool as a PT instructorsergeant.[10][11] He continued to play for Blackpool, with most of his goals in the war years coming in regional competitions. In theNorth Regional League, he scored 65 goals in 1941–2, and then 47 goals in 1942–3. In 1943, Blackpool beat Sheffield Wednesday over two legs to win the League Cup North, and then defeated League Cup South champions Arsenal 4–2 in the1943 Football League War Cup final.[12] He scored eight goals againstStockport County in 1941, and seven goals againstTranmere Rovers in 1942, including a hat-trick in just2+1⁄2 minutes. For over 60 years it stood as the fastest hat-trick in theFootball League, beforeJames Hayter bettered it by ten seconds in 2004.[7]
DuringWorld War II, Dodds played guest matches forManchester United,Fulham andWest Ham United. He also made one guest appearance for Clapton Orient, against Queens Park Rangers on 14 October 1944. Orient lost 0-3 before 3,000 spectators.[13]
In seven years atBloomfield Road, Dodds scored well over 200 goals, including 66 in1941-2 alone.
He signed for Irish sideShamrock Rovers in August 1946[14] and scored twice on his debut atMilltown on 8 September[1]. In total he played five games, two in theDublin City Cup and three in theLeague of Ireland Shield scoring four goals before being sold toEverton in November 1946 for £7,750[2]. Everton were in desperate need of a centre forward afterDixie Dean retired andTommy Lawton moved toChelsea. Dodds scored 36 goals in 55 league appearances for the Toffees in 1946–8. He was sold to his former club Lincoln City in October 1948 for £6,000, where he ended his playing career.
Dodds made all eight of his international appearances forScotland during the wartime period, and thus they are unofficial. On 18 April 1942, he netted ahat-trick in a 5–4 win overEngland atHampden Park in front of a crowd of 91,000.[15]Bill Shankly hit Scotland's winning goal. Dodds scored 8 goals in his 6 games versus England.[16]
After retiring as a player, he tried to recruit players to go toBogotá, to play in a new league outsideFIFA control. He was banned bythe Football Association in July 1950 for bringing the game into disrepute, but was later cleared. He decided against taking up positions in football management, and concentrated on business interests in Blackpool, where he said of the town in 1989,"I have lived here ever since [his move from Sheffield in 1939] and love the place."[9]
On 22 February 1989 Dodds was given a certificate for his two-and-a-half-minute hat-trick against Tranmere Rovers in 1942, which had for many years been listed in theGuinness Book of Records."I have been listed in the Guinness Book of Recordsfor years but I never thought about a certificate until I read about a woman receiving one for being the oldest golfer to hit a hole in one. A friend wrote to the GBR asking if I could have a certificate and they sent one to me."[9]
Dodds' wife died in 2005, and he died two years later, on 24 February 2007 at Blackpool'sVictoria Hospital. At the time of his death he was the oldest living FA Cup finalist, aged 91.[7]
Dodds was inducted into theHall of Fame at Bloomfield Road, when it was officially opened by former Blackpool playerJimmy Armfield in April 2006.[17] Organised by the Blackpool Supporters Association, Blackpool fans around the world voted on their all-time heroes. Five players from each decade are inducted; Dodds is in the 'pre-1950s'.[18]
| Club | Season | Division | League Apps | League Goals | FA Cup Apps | FA Cup Goals | Other Apps | Other Goals | Total Apps | Total Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield United | 1934–35 | Division Two | 28 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 19 |
| 1935–36 | Division Two | 42 | 33 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 52 | 40 | |
| 1936–37 | Division Two | 39 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 44 | 28 | |
| 1937–38 | Division Two | 40 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 44 | 23 | |
| 1938–39 | Division Two | 29 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 20 | |
| Total | 178 | 113 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 203 | 130 | ||
| Everton | 1946–47 | Division One | 21 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 17 | ||
| 1947–48 | Division One | 27 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 14 | |||
| 1948–49 | Division One | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 58 | 37 | ||||
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