Dennis Wilshaw - Club Career

Club Career

Wilshaw joined Wolverhampton Wanderers in March 1944 after being spotted playing for Packmoor Boys' Club in his youth where he scored 10 goals in a 16–0 win. The war made guesting a common occurrence and so he played a game for Port Vale on 5 May 1945, a 6–0 Potteries derby thumping at the Victoria Ground. He began guesting at Harry Hibbs's Walsall and had an extended loan spell at the Third Division South side, making 82 appearances, scoring 31 goals, before returning to top flight Wolves in September 1948. He built an effective partnership with Doug Lishman. During this time he also continued his education to become a qualified teacher. He finished as the "Saddlers" top-scorer in 1946–47 with 21 goals in 39 games. He hit nine goals in 40 appearances in 1947–48, and also appeared at Fellows Park in the first few games of the 1948–49 campaign.

He made his Wolves' debut on 12 March 1949, scoring a hat-trick over Newcastle United, and went on to score ten goals in eleven league games that season. However he was not selected in the side that competed in the 1949 FA Cup Final against Leicester City at Wembley. Wolves went on to finish second in the league in 1949–50. However they struggled in the lower half of the table in 1950–51 and 1951–52.

Thanks to greats such as Jesse Pye and Roy Swinbourne, it took until the 1952–53 for Wilshaw to establish himself in the first team; he bagged 18 goals in 30 games that season. He was a part of the Wolves side that won the league in 1953–54. The club's top-scorer with 25 of Wolves' 96 league goals that season, he described the players poor relationship with manager Stan Cullis, claiming that the club's team spirit was good "because we all hated his guts". They came close to securing the title again in 1954–55, but instead finished four points behind Chelsea. Wilshaw became more of a squad member in the 1955–56 and 1956–57 campaigns, playing 46 games across both seasons. In his time, Wolves were one of the greatest teams in the world and he played in victories over Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Moscow, Valencia, Honvéd and Real Madrid. In his time at Molineux, he managed a total of 117 goals in 232 matches for the club.

In 1957, the striker was transferred to Second Division Stoke City for a £10,000 fee. He claimed nine goals in 24 games for the "Potters" in 1957–58, including a hat-trick against Middlesbrough in a Third Round FA Cup tie at the Victoria Ground on 25 January. He became the club's top-scorer with 18 goals in 33 appearances in 1958–59, including another Third Round FA Cup hat-trick, this time against Oldham Athletic. He was restricted to nine goals in 22 games in 1959–60, though got a third hat-trick in a league win over Lincoln City. He went on to claim 14 goals in 30 appearances in 1960–61, holding on to his first team place after manager Frank Taylor was replaced by Tony Waddington. He retired from professional football in 1961 after breaking a leg in a FA Cup tie against Newcastle United.