| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sidney Ottewell | ||
| Date of birth | 23 October 1919 | ||
| Place of birth | Horsley, England | ||
| Playing position | Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| – | Holbrook Colliery Welfare | ? | (?) |
| 1936–1947 | Chesterfield | 42 | (12) |
| 1947 | Birmingham City | 5 | (2) |
| 1947–1948 | Luton Town | 15 | (4) |
| 1948–1950 | Nottingham Forest | 32 | (3) |
| 1950–1952 | Mansfield Town | 67 | (21) |
| 1952–1953 | Scunthorpe United | 30 | (12) |
| – | Spalding United | ? | (?) |
| Teams managed | |||
| – | Spalding United (player-manager) | ||
| 1960–1969 | Lockheed Leamington | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Sidney "Sid" Ottewell (born 23 October 1919) is an English former professional footballer who scored 54 goals from 191 appearances in the Football League playing for Chesterfield, Birmingham City, Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town and Scunthorpe United[1][2] He played as an inside forward.
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Ottewell was born in Horsley, Derbyshire. He began his football career with Holbrook Colliery Welfare before joining Chesterfield in 1936. He made his debut in the Second Division as a 17-year-old, on 3 April 1937 in a 4–0 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers.[3] During the Second World War Ottewell served as a Physical Training Instructor in the Royal Air Force, and made guest appearances for clubs including Birmingham, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Bradford City, Chester, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.[4][5] After the war he remained with Chesterfield until June 1947 when he joined Birmingham City.[6] He played five Second Division games in a variety of positions, and scored twice in a 4–3 defeat of Bradford (Park Avenue) in November 1947,[7] but in December he was allowed to leave for Luton Town, where he finished off the 1947–48 season in the Third Division South. Ottewell then signed for Nottingham Forest,[6] who were relegated from the Second Division at the end of his first season with the club.[8] He left for Mansfield Town halfway through the 1949–50 season,[6] and helped the club to runners-up spot in the Third Division North in his first full season.[9] In March 1952 Ottewell joined his final Football League club, Scunthorpe & Lindsey United, establishing himself immediately in the first team, but his appearances became more infrequent in the 1952–53 season, and he retired in 1953.[10]
Ottewell moved into non-league football as player-manager of Spalding United,[2] and was appointed manager of Lockheed Leamington prior to the 1960–61 season.[11] He led the club to successive championships of the Birmingham & District League in 1961–62, when they also won the Birmingham Senior Cup,[12] and 1962–63, this time combined only with losing in the Senior Cup final, at which point they joined the Midland League.[13] After guiding the team to third place in their first season at the higher level, Ottewell led them to the Midland League title in 1964–65.[14] He remained manager until January 1969, tenure which made him the longest-serving Leamington manager of the modern era.[6][15]
Ottewell lived most of his life in Wollaton, Nottinghamshire, but currently lives in nearby Newthorpe. He has 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren, and celebrated his 90th birthday in October 2009.[16] He is believed to be the oldest living ex-Nottingham Forest player.[16]