William “Dixie” Dean, the record that still stands and the cigarette cards every serious collector should know

Some records feel like folklore, others feel like granite. William Ralph “Dixie” Dean sits in that second camp. In 1927 to 1928 he scored sixty league goals for Everton, a top flight single season record that still stands and still stuns. Put that in context, it is not a purple patch, it is a footballing earthquake. He finished that season as a unique champion, he did it at twenty one, and he did it with the swagger of a centre forward who lived inside the penalty area and bullied defenders for fun (checkout Pathe YouTube videos). Everton list him at 383 goals in 433 games for the club, an outrageous rate that includes thirty seven hat tricks, and he remains ther all time top scorer by a mile. If you love football history you should know the numbers, sixty in a season, 349 in the league for Everton, 383 in all competitions, and none of these records have been matched since. 

For collectors, Dixie sits in that sweet spot where legend meets genuinely scarce cardboard. Early and mid to late 1920s British issues were not mass produced in the modern sense and survival in nice condition is thin. Here is a simple roadmap I use when talking to collectors who ask where to start, what is rare and what things have actually sold for lately.

The early and scarce issues

1925 D C Thomson Adventure and Vanguard Football Photos, card 5
This is a big one for vintage football. It functions as a true early issue for Dean and it is brutally scarce. PSA records a sale at around $2000 and there is a current COMC listing at $6699 for a PSA Authentic Altered example, which shows you how sellers value the scarcity even when the condition is not pristine. CGC also wrote up a graded copy in late 2024 which underlines how thin the population is. If you want a cornerstone Dixie, this is it. 

1926 D C Thomson Top Form Footballers, number 12
Another tough pre 1927 issue that serious collectors hunt. Goldin show a PSA 7 that hammered at $671 and Fanatics Collect list a sold PSA 5 example, which helps bracket the current market for graded copies. These are not common, condition is everything, and eye appeal jumps your comp quickly. 

1927 J A Pattreiouex Footballers Series
Harder to find than the later Players or Carreras sets. PSA shows a recorded sale at $122. Low data but useful and any strong grade should push above that given how little it appears. 

Late 1920s caricatures and classic tobacco runs

1927 John Player Footballer Caricatures by Mac
Fun art, great display piece and usually more affordable. Current market listings sit in the tens to low hundreds of dollars depending on grade, with SGC and PSA mid grades often under one hundred dollars. Good entry point for collectors who want period charm without the premium of the Thomson issues. 

1928 to 1929 Player’s Footballers Series 2, number 54
A straight photo style card that many consider a core Dixie target from his record season window. Raw examples can be found fairly cheaply in low condition, graded mid grades have been offered around $80 recently through COMC on eBay, which tracks with a healthy but not crazy demand curve. 

1928 Barratt and Co, Footballers Action Caricatures
Quirky, popular, and tougher in high grade. Inventory is thin, and while PSA shows a low data point at $17, current offers and collector shops tell a different story. A pair of Dixie Barratt Football Greats varieties is priced at £750 at a specialist dealer, which reflects scarcity and the power of set building rather than one outlier auction comp. In short, do not anchor to the single low APR result, look at the overall market. 

Mid 1930s sets you will see more often

1934 to 1935 Carreras, Footballers and Famous Footballers
These show up with some regularity and make great binder cards. PSA has recent prices by grade, with PSA 7 around $30 and PSA 6 around $20. Clean examples in top grades will bring a premium but this is a budget friendly way to add a known name. 

1934 Gallaher Sporting Personalities
Another photogenic run, commonly available, with graded examples in mid grade offered in the tens of dollars. A nice slabbed PSA 6 example has been offered in the mid $70 range lately. 

1936 Ogden’s Football Club Captains
A lovely concept set and a favourite with team collectors. An SGC 5.5 is being bid in the twenty to thirty dollar range at the time of writing, which is sensible for a presentable mid grade copy. 

1937 Godfrey Phillips Spot the Winner
Cheap and cheerful most of the time, with raw copies often under twenty dollars unless you find a top grade or a particularly sharp example. 

1939 African Tobacco, The World of Sport
A fascinating late pre war South African issue and far scarcer than the British cards. Population data is tiny and even low grade examples can command a few hundred dollars because of that scarcity. A graded example has been listed around $375 and GemRate shows only a handful graded across the run. 

How I would build a focused Dixie run today

Start with one cornerstone early piece, either the 1925 Thomson or the 1926 Thomson Top Form. If budget allows, chase the 1925 Adventure and Vanguard, if not, the 1926 Top Form in a clean mid grade is a smart anchor. Add one from 1927 to 1929 that ties you to the record season period, the Player’s Series 2 number 54 is a sensible choice. Fill in with one caricature, either 1927 Player Caricatures by Mac or 1928 Barratt, for variety in the binder. Then choose a single mid 1930s photogravure, Carreras or Gallaher, to round the page. If you want a curveball, try to source the African Tobacco card, it is scarce, it is global, and it tells the story of how far his fame travelled before the war.

Final word

Dixie’s numbers are monumental and the cardboard tells the same story. A genuine early rookie tier card that is thin on the ground, a record season era card that is easy to display, and a handful of affordable 1930s issues that keep the collection fun. He remains the king in the British football history books, he remains the name people seek first in pre war sets and the market keeps rewarding scarcity and story.