Enoch James West (31 March 1886 – September 1965), nicknamed Knocker, was an English

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 le ...

who played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

before being banned for

match fixing In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...

. West was born in Hucknall Torkard in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

. He started his career for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

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 Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

. West scored 14 league goals in his first season (1905/06) as Forest were relegated to the Second Division on goal average. In his second season (1906/07) Forest finished top of the Second Division partly due to West's 14 league goals. He top scored in 1907/08 (29 league goals) and 1908/09 (22 league goals) outscoring Grenville Morris. In the 1907/08 season he got 4 First Division

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

s including all 4 goals in the game against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

on 9 November 1907. The other hat-tricks were against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

and Everton. On 13 March 1909 West became the first ever player to be sent off for Nottingham Forest while playing against Derby County in the FA Cup 4th Round by referee T. Kirkham. He scored a hat-trick against

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is an English professional association football, football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football league system, Eng ...

on 21 April 1909 in Forest's record league win, a 12–0 victory (

Alf Spouncer William Alfred Spouncer (1 July 1877 – 31 August 1962) was an English footballer, who played as an outside left. Career Born in Gainsborough, Spouncer first played for hometown club Gainsborough Trinity during the 1893–94 season. He joined ...

and Hooper also scored 3 while Grenville Morris scored 2). West's last game for Nottingham Forest was on 30 April 1910 away to Bristol City.

Manchester United

In 1910, he transferred to Manchester United. He helped the club win the 1911 league medal. He scored 80 goals in his Manchester United career, his most successful season being the 1911-12 season when he scored a total of 23 goals; 17 in the league and six in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, although United failed to win either of these competitions. In 1915, he was banned for life by

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

, along with three other United players and four

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

players after being found guilty of

. West protested his innocence, but his ban was not lifted until 1945. His suspension, which lasted 30 years, was the longest in

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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

history. As he was 59 by the time his ban was lifted, he was never involved in football again.Free the Manchester United One
West died in 1965, at the age of 79.

Career statistics

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Enoch 1886 births 1965 deaths People from Hucknall Footballers from Nottinghamshire English footballers English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Sheffield United F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players English Football League representative players Association football forwards Sportspeople involved in betting scandals

Club career

Nottingham Forest

Manchester United

Career statistics

See also

Notes and references