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Dennis Westcott (2 July 1917 – 13 July 1960) was an English footballer, who played for New Brighton, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Chesterfield as a centre forward.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dennis Westcott[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 2 July 1917 | ||
| Place of birth | Wallasey, England | ||
| Date of death | 13 July 1960 (aged 43)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Stafford, England | ||
| Position(s) | Centre forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Wallasey Grocers | |||
| –1936 | Leasowe Road Brickworks | ||
| 1936 | New Brighton | 18 | (10) |
| 1936–1948 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 128 | (105) |
| 1940–1941 | → Liverpool (guest) | 2 | (6) |
| 1943–1944 | → Brentford (guest) | 5 | (6) |
| 1948–1950 | Blackburn Rovers | 63 | (37) |
| 1950–1952 | Manchester City | 72 | (37) |
| 1952–1953 | Chesterfield | 40 | (21) |
| 1953–1957 | Stafford Rangers | ||
| Total | 328 | (185) | |
| International career | |||
| 1940–1943 | England (wartime) | 4 | (5) |
| 1947 | Football League XI | 1 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He was posthumously inducted into the Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Fame in 2017.[2]
Westcott started his career at local clubs Wallasey Grocers and Leasowe Road Brickworks, before failing trials with Football League clubs Everton and West Ham United.[3] He then joined nearby New Brighton of the Third Division (North) in January 1936 and scored 10 goals in 18 league matches.[1] Wolverhampton Wanderers signed him in July 1936 and gave him a debut against Grimsby in an FA Cup tie.[4] Westcott scored one of the goals as Wolves won 6–2.[5] He scored 22 goals during the 1937–38 season, making him the club's top scorer.[5] The following season, he scored 43 goals in 43 appearances, setting a club record which stood for 50 years until it was broken by Steve Bull.[5] Westcott played in the 1939 FA Cup Final, but Wolves were beaten 4–1 by Portsmouth.[6]
In 1939 competitive football was then suspended due to World War II, depriving Westcott of several years in his prime.[5] During the war he played four wartime internationals for England and scored six goals in five games while guesting with Brentford.[7][8] When competitive football resumed in 1946, Westcott continued his goalscoring exploits, setting another club record with 38 goals in the 1946–47 season which made him top-scorer in the league.[5] He scored on his only appearance for the Football League XI in March 1947.[8] In 1948 he was released by Wolves and signed for Blackburn Rovers during the month prior to the club's relegation to the Second Division.[1] At Blackburn he scored 37 goals in 63 league appearances.[1] He then signed for Manchester City, where he scored 36 goals in 72 league appearances,[1] finishing as the club's top scorer in each of the two full seasons he played.[9][10] He then moved to Chesterfield and finished his career with Stafford Rangers.[5]
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He died from leukaemia in 1960 one week and four days after his 43rd birthday.[5]
- Football League War Cup: 1941–42[4]
- Football League Second Division runner-up: 1950–51[11][12]
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