Play written about footballÂ’s legend

The Dixie Dean Story, a play about the life of one of football’s ‘Greats’ is set to open in Liverpool on 5 May.

Dixie DeanÂ’s remarkable career began exactly eighty years ago and to mark the anniversary which began on 5 May 1928, a play has been written by his biographer John Keith.

His claim to fame began on 5 May 1928 when, in the final match of the season, he scored a hat-trick for Everton against Arsenal to break the record for the most number of goals scored in any one season, sixty.

What made his career even more remarkable was the fact that he had fractured his skull in a motor bike accident in 1926 and yet became one of the most lethal headers of a football.

The play covers Dean’s life from a childhood growing up on the other side of the River Mersey and his fame with Everton and England to his twilight years.

During his career with Everton he won two League Championships and one FA Cup medal.

Sadly his biographer John Keith was with Dixie Dean when he died at his beloved Goodison Park on 1 March 1980 after having invited him to attend a Merseyside derby.