Derek Dooley (footballer)

Derek Dooley

Derek Dooley statue outside Bramall Lane
Personal information
Full name	Derek Dooley
Date of birth	(1929-12-13)13 December 1929
Place of birth	Pitsmoor, Sheffield, England
Date of death	5 March 2008(2008-03-05) (aged 78)
Place of death	Sheffield, England
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1946–1947	Lincoln City	2	(2)
1947–1953	Sheffield Wednesday	61	(62)
Total		63	(64)
Teams managed
1971–1973	Sheffield Wednesday
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Derek Dooley, MBE (13 December 1929 – 5 March 2008) was an English football player, manager and chairman. He lived in Sheffield for the majority of his life taking roles at both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United.

He started his football league career with Lincoln City in 1946, but made only two appearances for them before joining Sheffield Wednesday the following year. In his time at Hillsborough he was a prolific goalscorer for Wednesday. Between 1950 and 1953 he scored 62 goals in 61 league games for the Owls, along with one goal from his two FA Cup appearances. His career was cut short when an infected leg had to be amputated following a serious fracture in his last match for the club.

Derek Dooley was born on 13 December 1929 in Pitsmoor, Sheffield. At the time Wednesday were in the process of successfully defending their Division 1 title. Both his mother and father were factory workers. Work commitments had prevented his father from having a trial with Bradford City. He went to Owler Lane School where they played football 2 hours a week. He was put in the senior team at the age of 13.

After leaving school at the age of 14 he took a job at a hearing-aid factory and played football for a Sheffield YMCA. 'Pop' Bennett, the manager of the YMCA, wanted to play him at centre-half but Dooley insisted that he would play at centre-forward or not at all. The manager relented and he was played up front where he became a prolific scorer. A year later he was given an opportunity with Lincoln City.

He was signed for Lincoln as an amateur and still played for the local YMCA. He played for the reserves side for two seasons becoming their top scorer. Towards the end of the 1946–47 season he played two matches for the first team side scoring a goal on each occasion. Lincoln decided to offer him a part-time contract but he declined as he wanted to help Sheffield and Hallamshire County Football Association to the final of Northern Counties Championship. It was at the final that he was spotted by Sheffield Wednesday scout Tommy Walker. A meeting with Eric Taylor, the Wednesday manager, was organised and as his contract with Lincoln had lapsed he was signed immediately.