The Encylopedia of British Football

Alex Scott

Robert (Alex) Scott was born in Liverpool on 29th October 1913. A goalkeeper, he played for England Schoolboys before joining Burnley in 1933. He soon established himself in the first team and played 37 games for the club over the next two seasons.

Scott was signed by Major Frank Buckley, the manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, in 1935 for a fee of £1,250. He joined a team that included Stan Cullis, Gordon Clayton, Bill Morris, Dennis Westcott, George Ashall, Jack Taylor, Tom Galley, Dicky Dorsett, Bill Parker, Bryn Jones, Joe Gardiner and Teddy Maguire.

Alex Scott, who was 6ft 4in tall, had a strong temper and on two occasions was sent off in league games playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Major Frank Buckley wanted to take his team on a tour of Europe before the start of the 1937-38 season. However, the Football Association refused permission for this to go-ahead due to "the numerous reports of misconduct by players of the Wolverhampton Wanderers Club during the past two seasons."

Stan Cullis, the captain and the rest of his teammates wrote to the FA claiming: "We would like to state that far from advocating the rough play we are accused of, Major Buckley is constantly reminding us of the importance of playing good, clean and honest football, and we as a team consider you have been most unjust in administering this caution to our manager."

In the 1937-38 season Wolves finished second to the mighty Arsenal in the First Division. Dennis Westcott finished the season as top scorer with 22 goals in 28 appearances.

In the 1938-39 season Wolves finished second to Everton. The centre-forward Dennis Westcott scored 43 goals in 43 appearances. His fellow striker, Dicky Dorsett managed 26 goals that season. The captain of the side, Stan Cullis, was generally acknowledged as the best centre-half in the Football League. That season also saw the arrival of teenagers, Billy Wright, Joe Rooney and Jimmy Mullen, in the side.

Wolves also enjoyed a good run in the FA Cup and beat Leicester City (5-1), Liverpool (4-1), Everton (2-0), Grimsby Town (5-0) to reach the final against Portsmouth at Wembley. Wolves lost the final 4-1 with Dicky Dorsett scoring their only goal. Major Buckley's Wolves became the first team in the history of English football to be runners-up in the sport's two major competitions in the same year. Afterwards, it was discovered that the Portsmouth players, like those of Wolves, had also been injected with monkey glands.

The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 brought an end to the Football League. The government imposed a fifty mile travelling limit on all football teams and the Football League divided all the clubs into seven regional areas where games could take place. Wolves joined the Midland League with West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Luton Town, Northampton Town, Leicester City and Walsall. Wolves won the 1939-40 championship. During the war Scott served as a policeman.

After the war Scott joined Crewe Alexandra and in the 1947-48 season played 44 league games for the club.

Alex Scott died in 1962.