Enoch West

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.

West scored 14 league goals in his first season (1905/06) as Forest were relegated to the Second Division on goal difference.

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.

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.

West died in 1965, at the age of 79.

Career statistics

Notes and references