| Fred Dawes | |
| Fullname: | Frederick W. Dawes |
| Birth Date: | 2 May 1911 |
| Birth Place: | Frimley Green, England |
| Death Place: | Shirley, England |
| Height: | 5 ft 8 in[1] |
| Position: | Defender |
| Youthyears1: | ?–1929 |
| Youthclubs1: | Aldershot |
| Years1: | 1929–1936 |
| Clubs1: | Northampton Town |
| Caps1: | 162 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 1936–1950 |
| Clubs2: | Crystal Palace |
| Caps2: | 223 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Clubs3: | Beckenham Town |
| Totalcaps: | 385 + |
| Totalgoals: | 2 + |
| Manageryears1: | 1950–1951 |
| Managerclubs1: | Crystal Palace (Joint manager, with Charlie Slade) |
Frederick W. Dawes (2 May 1911 – 12 August 1989) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League as a defender for Northampton Town and Crystal Palace. He also managed Crystal Palace and was the younger brother of Albert Dawes, who also played professionally for Crystal Palace and Northampton.[2]
Dawes began his youth career with Aldershot and, in 1929, signed for Northampton Town, where his older brother Albert was also a player. Between then and 1936, Dawes made 162 League appearances for the club, scoring once.
In February 1936,[3] Dawes signed for Crystal Palace, once again re-joining his older brother who had moved to Palace in 1933,[3] and immediately established himself in the side being ever-present for the remainder of that season and throughout the 1936–37 season.[4] Dawes went on to make a total of 223[3] Football League appearances for Palace before being forced to retire as a player, through injury, during the 1949–50 season.[5] Dawes career was notable in that he completed a century of appearances for Crystal Palace either side of World War II.
After retiring as a player, Dawes was appointed as assistant to then Crystal Palace manager Ronnie Rooke.[5] Despite a reasonably successful 1949–50 season and a number of close-season signings, the club had a very poor start to the 1950–51 season. In November 1950, Rooke was relieved of his position and Dawes was appointed as joint-manager, together with chief scout Charlie Slade.[6] However, the partnership was unable to improve upon the season start and the club had to seek re-election in 1951.[5] The 1951–52 season also began poorly and Dawes and Slade were dismissed in October.[5]
Dawes was reinstated as an amateur by the Football Association after leaving Crystal Palace[5] and went on to play for Beckenham Town. After leaving football altogether, Dawes became a shopkeeper.[5]
He managed Croydon Amateurs FC in their first two seasons, 1953–54 and 1954–55, taking them to the Surrey Senior League Cup and Charity Cup Finals in that inaugural season. After a poor second campaign, he resigned when Chelsea's John Harris was appointed coach without his knowledge.
Fred Dawes died on 12 August 1989 in Shirley, Surrey, aged 78.[7]