Dale Anthony Rudge (born 9 September 1963) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. Playing as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, he represented his hometown club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

in the 1980s before moving on to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

, Norwegian club Djerv 1919, and

Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...

. Rudge, a

Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

apprentice, made his league debut on 18 December 1982 in a 4–0 win over QPR. He went on to feature 8 times during the 1982/83 season as Wolves won promotion from the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

at the first attempt. He made a further 19 appearances during the club's top flight campaign that ended in relegation, before moving to

. In total, he represented the Midlanders 29 times in all competitions. The midfielder remained in English league football for two further seasons, making 47 league appearances for Preston in the bottom two divisions, scoring twice. Both goals came in the 1984–85 season against

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...

at home and

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

away. He was released in the summer of 1986 and he joined Norwegian club Djerv 1919. He later returned to England with

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

, where he helped the club to the 1992

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

final. A Preston North End

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

, '

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England that is the home ground of Preston North End. Built in 1875 and in use since 1878, Deepdale is recognised as being one of the oldest continuously used football stadium ...

Rudge' is named after him. He still makes the odd appearance for the 'old Wolves' side in charity matches and appears alongside the likes of

Mel Eves Melvyn James Eves (born 10 September 1956) is an English former professional footballer who had a long career playing as a striker and left sided attacker, mostly known for his time with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Career Eves, born in the Miners ...

, Dean Edwards, Andy Thompson and Phil Parkes. He currently coaches at the

Old Swinford Hospital Old Swinford Hospital is a Secondary school, secondary boarding school in Oldswinford, Stourbridge, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England that has been in continuous operation since the 17th century. It is one of 36 state boarding sch ...

school, and has also coached at

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...

' academy.Academy squad is taking shape
This is Worcestershire, 16 September 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudge, Dale 1963 births Living people Footballers from Wolverhampton English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players SK Djerv 1919 players Hednesford Town F.C. players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway English expatriate sportspeople in Norway