Dennis Viollet

Viollet joined Manchester United on 1 September 1949. He came through the junior ranks at United and turned professional in 1950. His first game for the club came against arch-rivals Newcastle United on 11 April 1953. He was a striker, along with Tommy Taylor for the Busby Babes of the 1950s. He was a survivor of the Munich air disaster. Viollet played a key role in the championship-winning teams of 1956 and 1957, which paved the way for United's first two campaigns in the European Cup, where they reached the semi-finals both times.

He was a lightning quick player, who combined well with Taylor's height to form a terrific strike force. One of his finest games came on 26 September 1956, in United's European Cup preliminary round second leg tie against Belgian champions Anderlecht, in which he scored four goals in a 10–0 win at Maine Road because Old Trafford had no floodlights until March 1957.[3]

After recovering from a gashed head and facial injuries suffered in the Munich air disaster, Viollet returned to the United side before the end of that season, and with Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan being among the fatalities, Viollet found himself playing alongside crash survivor Bobby Charlton and new signing Albert Quixall from the start of 1958-59 season.

He proved his worth by scoring 32 goals in 36 games in the 1959–60 season, a club record.[4] It was during this season and the one following it that he received his two caps for England, in a defeat against Hungary and a victory over Luxembourg, in which he scored one goal. In January 1962, Matt Busby surprisingly sold 28-year-old Viollet to Stoke City for £25,000 after scoring 179 goals in 293 appearances for United.[5]

He joined a team being re-built by Tony Waddington, containing experienced players such as Stanley Matthews, and Jackie Mudie and also emerging talent such as John Ritchie and Eric Skeels.[2] His signing was viewed as a coup for Stoke as at 28 Viollet was still in his prime although the press insisted he would just be another veteran playing out his final seasons at the Victoria Ground.[2] He made a decent start to his Stoke career scoring five goals towards the end of the 1961–62 season meaning that hopes were high for 1962–63.[2] While six games without a win heralded another poor start for Stoke, Viollet kick-started Stoke's season with four goals against Charlton Athletic on 12 September.[2] That win gave Stoke the impetus to embark on an unbeaten run of 18, ended by Leeds United on 15 December.[2] The winter of 1962–63 saw no matches played for two months and once football resumed in March Stoke lost once in their next 13 matches and won the Second Division title with Viollet scoring 23 goals. With Stoke back in the First Division after a ten-year absence Waddington decided to move Viollet into midfield.[2] He played and scored in the 1964 Football League Cup Final as Stoke lost 4–3 to Leicester City. He continued to play for Stoke until the summer of 1967 when he announced his retirement after scoring 66 goals in 207 matches for the "Potters".[2] Shortly after his death in March 1999 he was honoured by the club having a street near the Britannia Stadium named 'Dennis Viollet Avenue'.[2]

Shortly after leaving the Victoria Ground, he came out of retirement to join NASL team Baltimore Bays in the United States for a season.[2] On returning to Britain, he played for non-league Witton Albion, before finishing his career at Linfield helping them to win the Irish cup in 1970. Once his playing career finished, he had spells coaching at Preston North End, and Crewe Alexandra briefly in 1971.[2]

In 1974, Dennis Viollet became the first Head Coach for the Washington Diplomats of the NASL. In 1978, Viollet was selected by his former United teammate, head coach Noel Cantwell, to serve as assistant coach of the New England Tea Men of the North American Soccer League. After three seasons in the Boston area, the team relocated to Jacksonville, Florida in 1981 where Viollet continued as assistant coach, ultimately becoming head coach, of the Jacksonville Tea Men of the NASL, ASL and United Soccer League. The Team Men won the ASL, bringing the City of Jacksonville its first ever professional sports championship. Viollet in 1985 coached the varsity boys soccer team at St. Johns Country Day School located in Orange Park, Florida. He also coached the Jacksonville Knights, a professional indoor soccer team, in 1989. In 1990, Viollet took the reins of the Jacksonville University Dolphins, where he stayed until 1995. Jacksonville University and their primary rivals, the University of North Florida, compete annually for the Dennis Viollet Cup. He then took the USISL Richmond Kickers to the 1995 American Double (USISL Premier League and US Open Cup titles). He stayed with Richmond for 2 seasons, then served as coach of the A-League Jacksonville Cyclones before his death from cancer on 6 March 1999, aged 65, in his adopted home of Jacksonville.[2]

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