Dixie Dean’s most cherished medal comes home to Goodison Park
The 1927/28 League Championship medal presented to Dixie Dean will be back at Goodison Park on eve of anniversary
One of the most cherished medals in Everton’s history is coming home.
The League Championship medal presented to Dixie Dean after his record-breaking 60-goal season in 1927-28 will be back at Goodison Park – on the eve of the 90th anniversary of the legendary
And fans are being invited to see it at a special celebration event.
Saturday May 5, when Everton entertain Southampton, will be the 90th anniversary of the occasion Dixie scored a hat-trick against Arsenal to break the top flight scoring record.
Dixie Dean footage from 1928. Courtesy of the British Film Institute
The night before, on Friday, May 4, at the People’s Club Lounge at Goodison Park, the medal presented to Dixie will be back at the stadium for the first time in decades.
Poignantly, with Everton planning a move to a new stadium, it could be the last landmark anniversary of Dixie’s achievement to be celebrated at Goodison Park.
The homecoming is the result of some meticulous research by Ken Rogers, former Echo Sports Editor and member of the Everton Heritage Society.
The medal presented to Ted Critchley, one of Dixie’s team-mates, after the title-winning 1927/28 season and part of the remarkable Everton Collection (http://www.evertoncollection.org.uk/home)
The medal was sold at auction in Glasgow in 1991 to Gordon Wallis.
Ken has tracked down and convinced the collector to bring the ‘holy grail’ of football medals back to its spiritual home for the night.
On the night Gordon will reveal for the first time an unexpected personal story linked with the Dean medal purchase.
Another prestigious piece of silverware, the Echo’s Dixie Dean memorial award, will be presented for the first time for eight years on the night.
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Gordon West was the 29th and final recipient of the award in 2010, but to mark the occasion the trophy will be presented once again.
Ken Rogers, a proud Evertonian who knew Dean personally and was behind a book entitled ‘Dixie Uncut – The Lost Interview’, will host the evening.
Organised in association with Everton, an exhibition of Dixie’s achievements, in words and pictures, has been compiled by the Everton FC Heritage Society.
Fans will also be able to hear tales of Dean’s amazing career, told by people who knew him.
The staging of the event in the ‘People’s Club’ lounge is hugely appropriate, with Dean’s record-breaking 60th league goal scored at the Park End of the ground.
The lounge also looks down on the former Goodison Avenue where Dean once lived in a small club terraced house.
