Sid Ottewell

Sidney Ottewell (23 October 1919 – 31 January 2012) was an English professional footballer who scored 54 goals from 191 appearances in the Football League, playing for Chesterfield, Birmingham City, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town and Scunthorpe United.[3][4] He played as an inside forward.

Sid Ottewell
Personal information
Full name Sidney Ottewell[1]
Date of birth (1919-10-23)23 October 1919
Place of birth Holbrook, England
Date of death 31 January 2012(2012-01-31) (aged 92)
Place of death Nottingham, England
Height 5 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1.74 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Inside forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
– Holbrook Colliery Welfare
1936–1947 Chesterfield 42 (12)
1947 Birmingham City 5 (2)
1947–1948 Luton Town 15 (4)
1948–1950 Nottingham Forest 32 (3)
1950–1952 Mansfield Town 67 (21)
1952–1953 Scunthorpe United 30 (12)
– Spalding United
Teams managed
– Spalding United (player-manager)
1960–1969 Lockheed Leamington
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Ottewell was born in Holbrook, Derbyshire,[5] and captained the Derbyshire Schools football team.[2] He began his senior career with Holbrook Colliery Welfare before joining Chesterfield in 1936.[5] He made his debut in the Second Division as a 17-year-old, on 3 April 1937 in a 4–0 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.[6] During the Second World War, Ottewell served as a Physical Training Instructor in the Royal Air Force, and made guest appearances for clubs including Birmingham, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bradford City, Chester, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.[7][8]

After the war he remained with Chesterfield until June 1947 when he joined Birmingham City.[1] He played five Second Division games in a variety of positions, and scored twice in a 4–3 defeat of Bradford (Park Avenue) in November 1947,[9] but in December he was allowed to leave for Luton Town, where he finished off the 1947–48 season in the Third Division South. Ottewell then signed for Nottingham Forest,[1] who were relegated from the Second Division at the end of his first season with the club.[10] He left for Mansfield Town in January 1950 for what the Nottingham Evening Post called "a substantial fee",[2] and helped the club to runners-up spot in the Third Division North in his first full season.[11] In March 1952 Ottewell joined his final Football League club, Scunthorpe & Lindsey United, establishing himself immediately in the first team, but his appearances became more infrequent in the 1952–53 season, and he retired in 1953.[12]

Managerial career

Ottewell moved into non-league football as player-manager of Spalding United,[4] and was appointed manager of Lockheed Leamington prior to the 1960–61 season.[13] He led the club to successive championships of the Birmingham & District League in 1961–62, when they also won the Birmingham Senior Cup,[14] and 1962–63, this time combined only with losing in the Senior Cup final,[15][16] at which point they joined the Midland League. After guiding the team to third place in their first season at the higher level, Ottewell led them to the Midland League title in 1964–65.[15] He remained manager until January 1969, tenure which made him the longest-serving Leamington manager of the modern era.[1][17]

Personal life

Ottewell was married to Eileen from 1947 until her death in 2006. They had two children, Peter and Carole. The couple lived in Wollaton, Nottinghamshire, but in later life moved to nearby Newthorpe.[18] In October 2009, when he celebrated his 90th birthday, he had numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and was believed to be the oldest living former Nottingham Forest player.[19] He died in an Eastwood nursing home on 31 January 2012 at the age of 92.[5][18]

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References
General
  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
Specific
  1. Matthews, p. 115.
  2. "Forest player joins Mansfield". Nottingham Evening Post. 24 January 1950. p. 6 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 200. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  4. "Sid Ottewell". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  5. "Sid Ottewell: 1919–2012". Chesterfield F.C. 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
  6. "Chesterfield's debutants". cfchistory.com. Stuart Basson. Archived from the original (XLSX) on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  7. "Sid Ottewell fact file". Mine Eyes Have Seen The Glory. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  8. Matthews, p. 238.
  9. Matthews, p. 183.
  10. "Nottingham Forest". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  11. "Mansfield Town". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  12. "The Iron Alphabet". Scunthorpe United F.C. 22 June 2007. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012.
  13. "Birmingham & District 1960–1961". Pride in our past: The history of Leamington Football Club 1891–2007. Leamington F.C. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008.
  14. "Birmingham & District 1961–1962". Pride in our past. Leamington F.C. Archived from the original on 12 October 2006.
  15. "Leamington's history". Pride in our past. Leamington F.C. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  16. "Birmingham County FA Cup Competitions: Previous Winners" (DOC). Birmingham County Football Association. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  17. "The Brakes file". Leamington Courier. 18 August 2000. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  18. "Former Forest star dies in Eastwood". Eastwood & Kimberley Advertiser. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  19. Monk, Delia (6 October 2009). "'Oldest living ex-Forest player' turning 90". Nottingham Evening Post. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  • Sid Ottewell at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
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