Hawkins: Dennis Robert (Dennis)

1964-1968 (Player Details)

Centre Forward

Born: Swansea: 22-10-1947

Debut: v West Bromwich Albion (h): 13-10-1965

5’7” 10st 12lb (1970)

A Welsh schoolboy international, Hawkins joined Leeds in October 1964, after serving his apprenticeship. Such was United’s strength in the early 1960s that Hawkins won his first Welsh Under-Twenty-Three cap before making his League debut. It came on 30th November 1966 against Scotland at Wrexham, with teammate Eddie Gray at left-half for the opposition who went home with a 6-0 win. He had made his Leeds first team debut in a League Cup-tie on 13th October 1965 against West Bromwich Albion at Elland Road, when he played at centre forward in an experimental Leeds side comprised mainly of Juniors alongside David Harvey, Nigel Davey, Barry Wright, Rod Johnson, Rod Belfitt and Paul Madeley. Willie Bell was the only regular player in his normal position, as Jim Storrie played right half and Don Weston on the right wing. Not surprisingly Leeds went down 2-4. His League debut was not until 15th May 1967, in the final game of the 1966-67 season, at home to Sheffield Wednesday, when Leeds again fielded a largely second choice eleven. Hawkins was included at Inside Right with Rod Johnson leading the line and David Harvey, Terry Hibbitt and Jimmy Lumsden being given a rare chance and England Centre Forward Alan Peacock was at Centre Half! A Terry Hibbitt goal gave Leeds full points. In the meantime, he had gained his second cap on 22nd February 1967 against Northern Ireland in Belfast where the Irish led 2-1 when the game was abandoned after seventy-three minutes. His third cap was gained on 1st November 1967 when England triumphed in Swansea by 2-1. He did play two further games for Leeds, the first being in the Fourth Round of the League Cup at Sunderland on 15th November 1967, when Mick Jones was Cup-tied, and two goals from Jimmy Greenhoff were sufficient to send Leeds through to the next round on their way to eventually winning the trophy at Wembley on 2nd March 1968. His final game was in the League in a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest on 25th November 1967, when Jones and Johnson were not available. United won 2-0 with goals from Jimmy Greenhoff and Peter Lorimer, who came on as a substitute to replace Hawkins. He gained his fourth cap on 20th March 1968 against Northern Ireland in Cardiff when the visitors won 1-0. His fifth and final cap gained while with Leeds United came on 2nd October 1968 when England beat Wales at Wrexham by 3-1. He had Terry Yorath behind him at Right Half in the Welsh team, while the English team contained Jimmy Greenhoff, who had moved to Birmingham City, at Centre Forward and he got one of the English goals as they won 3-1. Leeds had such a fine squad that he was unable to break into it and had little opportunity to show what he could do and so he left for Shrewsbury Town in October 1968 for £10,000. At Shrewsbury he increased his Welsh Under-Twenty-three tally to six, when he made his final appearance for the Welsh Under-Twenty-Threes on 14th January 1970 at Aberdeen against Scotland. It was a game that had plenty of Leeds connections. Terry Yorath was again at Right Half for Wales and Peter Lorimer, future player John O'Hare, and Asa Hartford, who would have been a future Leeds player if he had passed a medical. In the 1-1 draw Hawkins scored for wales while John O'Hare got the Scottish goal. In his three and a half year stay at Gay Meadow he scored nine goals in fifty-eight appearances, all but eight in the starting team. However, he lost his place in the team and went on loan to Chester City in September 1970, where he scored once in six starts and one game from the bench, and Workington in March 1972, where six starts brought a single goal. In May 1972 he joined Newport County scoring once in nine appearances before leaving in June 1973. He went into Non-League Football with Telford United and Nuneaton Borough. In 1988 he was Manager of Tadcaster Albion, in the Northern Counties East League. His Brothers also played professional football, Peter for Northampton Town and Kevin with Swansea City. Dennis works for a confectionary business in York.