Enoch West
Enoch James West (31 March 1886 – September 1965) (nickname Knocker) was an English footballer who played as a Centre Forward for Nottingham Forest and Manchester United before being banned for match fixing.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Enoch James West | ||
| Date of birth | 31 March 1886 | ||
| Place of birth | Hucknall Torkard, England | ||
| Date of death | 1965 (aged 78–79) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1903–1905 | Sheffield United | 0 | (0) |
| 1905–1910 | Nottingham Forest | 168 | (94) |
| 1910–1915 | Manchester United | 166 | (72) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
West was born in Hucknall Torkard in Nottinghamshire. He started his career for Sheffield United but failed to break into the first team.
Nottingham Forest
He transferred in 1905 for a fee of £5 to Nottingham Forest and made his debut on 16 September 1905 in the 3–2 victory at home to Bury.[1]
West scored 14 league goals in his first season (1905/06) as Forest were relegated to the Second Division on goal average.[1] In his second season (1906/07) Forest finished top of the Second Division partly due to West's 14 league goals.[1]
He top scored in 1907/08 (29 league goals) and 1908/09 (22 league goals) outscoring Grenville Morris.[1][2]
In the 1907/08 season he got 4 First Division hat-tricks including all 4 goals in the game against Sunderland on 9 November 1907. The other hat-tricks were against Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Everton.[1]
On 13 March 1909 West became the first ever player to be sent off for Nottingham Forest while playing against Derby County in the FA Cup 4th Round by referee T. Kirkham.[1]
He scored a hat-trick against Leicester Fosse on 21 April 1909 in Forest's record league win, a 12–0 victory (Spouncer and Hooper also scored 3 while Grenville Morris bagged 2).[1]
West's last game for Notttingham Forest was on 30 April 1910 away to Bristol City.[1]
Manchester United
In 1910, he transferred to Manchester United]. He helped the club win the 1911 league medal. He scored 80 goals in his Manchester United career, his most successful season being the 1911-12 season when he scored a total of 23 goals; 17 in the league and six in the FA Cup, although United failed to win either of these competitions.[3]
In 1915, he was banned for life by the Football Association, along with three other United players and four Liverpool players after being found guilty of match fixing. West protested his innocence, but his ban was not lifted until 1945. His suspension, which lasted 30 years, was the longest in Football League history. As he was 59 by the time his ban was lifted, he was never involved in football again.[4]
West died in 1965, at the age of 79.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sheffield United | 1903–04 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1904–05 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Nottingham Forest[1][5] | 1905–06 | First Division | 35 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 17 |
| 1906–07 | Second Division | 33 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 14 | |
| 1907–08 | First Division | 36 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 29 | |
| 1908–09 | First Division | 33 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 37 | 25 | |
| 1909–10 | First Division | 31 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 18 | |
| Total | 168 | 94 | 15 | 8 | 183 | 102 | ||
| Manchester United.[6] | 1910–11 | First Division | 35 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 20 |
| 1911–12 | First Division | 32 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 23 | |
| 1913–13 | First Division | 36 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 22 | |
| 1913–14 | First Division | 30 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 6 | |
| 1914–15 | First Division | 33 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 9 | |
| Total | 166 | 72 | 15 | 8 | 181 | 80 | ||
| Career total | 334 | 166 | 30 | 16 | 364 | 182 | ||
Notes and references
- Smales, Ken (2006). Nottingham Forest The Official Statistical History. Pineapple Books.
- Nordic, Chris. "The 100 goal Club". Nottingham Forest Gazzette. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Free the Manchester United One Archived 2 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- "The City Ground - Enoch West". Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- "MUFCInfo Enoch James West". Retrieved 12 November 2019.