Enoch West
Personal information
Full name Enoch James West
Date of birth (1886-03-31)31 March 1886
Place of birth Hucknall Torkard, England
Date of death 1965 (aged 78–79)
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
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)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Enoch James West (31 March 1886 – September 1965), nicknamed Knocker, was an English footballer who played as a centre forward for Nottingham Forest and Manchester United before being banned due to his part in the 1915 British football match-fixing scandal.

West was born in Hucknall Torkard in Nottinghamshire. He started his career for Sheffield United but failed to break into the first team.

Club career

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.[2]

West scored 14 league goals in his first season (1905/06) as Forest were relegated to the Second Division on goal difference.[2] In his second season (1906/07) Forest finished top of the Second Division partly due to West's 14 league goals.[2]

He top scored in 1907/08 (29 league goals) and 1908/09 (22 league goals) outscoring Grenville Morris.[2][3]

In the 1907/08 season he scored four First Division hat-tricks including all four goals in the game against Sunderland on 9 November 1907. The other hat-tricks were against Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers and Everton.[2]

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.[2]

He scored a hat-trick against Leicester Fosse on 21 April 1909 in Forest's record league win, a 12–0 victory (Alf Spouncer and Hooper also scored three whilst Grenville Morris scored two).[2]

West's last game for Nottingham Forest was on 30 April 1910 away to Bristol City.[2]

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.[4]

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.[5]

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[2][6] 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.[7] 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

  1. ^ Dykes, Garth (1994). The United Alphabet: A Complete Who's Who of Manchester United F.C. Leicester: ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 395. ISBN 0-9514862-6-8.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Smales, Ken (2006). Nottingham Forest The Official Statistical History. Pineapple Books.
  3. ^ Nordic, Chris. "The 100 goal Club". Nottingham Forest Gazzette. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2006.
  4. ^ "About Man Utd | Enoch West, Manchester United player". Archived from the original on 29 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  5. ^ Free the Manchester United One Archived 2 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "The City Ground - Enoch West". Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. ^ "MUFCInfo Enoch James West". Retrieved 12 November 2019.
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