ABSTRACT
Professional football and footballers were increasingly in the public eye during the 1930s (see also Chapter 6). As national newspapers increasingly competed for readers, and the new media of radio, cinema and, latterly, television offered additional coverage, every professional player ‘plied his trade under a much brighter media spotlight’1 than ever before. A select few, such as Bill ‘Dixie’ Dean and Stanley Matthews, came close to being national household names, but for the vast majority of players coverage remained mostly local, the town newspaper being the primary means by which their exploits, on and off the field, were revealed to their adoring public.
