Dennis Wann (born 17 November 1950) 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 ...
who played as a
winger. He played in
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
for seven clubs.
Early life
Born in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
, Wann grew up in the Mereside area of the town. He attended Stanley Primary School, before moving onto
St George's School. He had early ambitions to work in the police force. While playing for the younger of Mereside's two junior sides, he appeared in a tournament final at
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is a association football, football stadium in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool Football Club since 1901. It is the third stadium in the club's existence, the previous two be ...
, home of
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1887, the ...
A few days later, he received a phone call to meet
Stan Mortensen
Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, notable for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final (subsequently known as the " Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a hat- ...
, then manager of Blackpool, who offered Wann an apprenticeship. He began appearing for Blackpool's reserves team, one of their five XIs at the time (first, reserves, "A" team, "B" team and youth team).
Playing career
Wann began his career with hometown side Blackpool, whom he turned professional with in July 1967. He made 17 league appearances over the next five years. In 1970–71, Wann fell out of favour with new manager
Bob Stokoe
Robert Stokoe (21 September 1930 – 1 February 2004) was an English footballer and manager who was able, almost uniquely, to transcend the traditional north-east animosity between the region's footballing rivals, Newcastle United and Sunderlan ...
, partly because of an incident in
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
during the build-up to Blackpool's victorious
Anglo-Italian Cup final against
Bologna FC 1909
Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club have won seven top-flight titles, thr ...
. Despite his infraction, Wann came on as a substitute in the final, and set up
Mickey Burns's winning goal. After the match,
Alan Ainscow tipped-off Wann that his days at Blackpool were at an end. Stokoe confirmed that Wann would never play for the club again, in any of its teams, and was transfer listed.
Jimmy Armfield
James Christopher Armfield (21 September 1935 – 22 January 2018) was an English professional association football, football player and manager. He played the whole of his Football League career at Blackpool F.C., Blackpool, usually at right b ...
wanted to sign Wann for
Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...
, but Stokoe said he had not been contacted by the club.
After leaving Blackpool, Wann signed for
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...
side
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 ...
in February 1972 for a fee of £10,000. In a Boxing Day fixture at
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...
, Wann broke his leg nine minutes before the end of the game. It was supposed to be Wann's final game for York City, the club having agreed a transfer to
Sheffield United for £40,000, and the transfer fell through.
Loan spells at
Chesterfield and
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.
They were founded in 190 ...
followed and in July 1976 he began a three-year stint with
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...
. He was joined by three other players from York City's promotion-winning team which had been broken up by
Wilf McGuinness
Wilfred McGuinness (born 25 October 1937) is an English former football player and manager, who played for Manchester United and twice for England in his short playing career.
McGuinness succeeded Sir Matt Busby as manager of Manchester United ...
.
Wann remained in the
Football League Fourth Division
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...
after a switch to
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
in June 1979, scoring seven league goals in his two seasons at
Spotland
Spotland ( ) is a district of Rochdale in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseysi ...
. A short spell back at Blackpool followed, then a non-contract stint back at York City,
before Wann dropped out of the professional ranks with a spell at non-league
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
.
In October 1983 Wann returned to
The Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
with
Chester City, whom he joined on non-contract terms. After three league games and one
League Cup tie Wann returned to
Workington
Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
.
He later had a brief spell with
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...
.
Personal life
Wann married young and had a daughter. He and his wife ran a thirteen-bedroom guest house in Blackpool, which they kept when Wann transferred to Darlington but which led to Wann's transfer to Rochdale, shortening his commute. After retiring, he sold the Blackpool guest house and bought a newsagents in
St Annes which was owned by former Blackpool player
Dave Hatton. Wann owned it for 35 years.
External links
Hartlepool United career details
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wann, Dennis
1950 births
Living people
Footballers from Blackpool
English men's footballers
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Men's association football wingers
Blackpool F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Chesterfield F.C. players
Hartlepool United F.C. players
Darlington F.C. players
Rochdale A.F.C. players
Chester City F.C. players
Workington A.F.C. players
Runcorn F.C. Halton players