Alfred (Alf) Dean was born in West Bromwich on 2nd January 1877. A centre-forward he joined West Bromwich Albion in 1896. He scored three goals for seven games before being transferred to Walsall in 1898. Dean scored an impressive 29 goals in 75 games for the club.

Dean also played for Nottingham Forest (1900), Grimsby Town (1901) and Bristol City (1902-1904) before spending time with Swindon Town and Millwall.

Alf Dean died in 1959.