Dean Windass
Scored the winning goal in the 2008 Championship Play-Off Final at age 39, securing a £60 million promotion for his hometown club.
Born 1969 (age 57)·English footballer·Birthday: April 1·Generation X
Biography
Dean Windass volleyed the ball into the net at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2008, lifting Hull City into the Premier League for the first time in its 104-year history. He began his professional career at Hull in 1991, scoring 64 goals across two spells. Windass accumulated 713 professional appearances and 236 goals for 14 clubs, including Aberdeen, where he won the 1995 Scottish League Cup. His playing style combined physical aggression with technical volleying skill, resulting in 103 yellow cards and 7 red cards. After retirement in 2009, he worked as a pundit for BBC Radio Humberside and briefly managed non-league North Ferriby United. The financial impact of his Wembley goal transformed Hull City's infrastructure and global profile. In 2021, he publicly discussed his struggles with depression, becoming an advocate for mental health awareness in sports. The city of Hull renamed a city-center bar 'The Dean Windass' in 2008.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Dean was born in 1969, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dean Was Born
The biggest hits of 1969
#1 Movie
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Dean's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1969Born
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1974Started school
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1982Became a teenager
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Could drive
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1987Could vote
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Turned 21
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Turned 30
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 40
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 50
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 57 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Scored the winning goal in the 2008 Championship Play-Off Final, securing promotion to the Premier League for Hull City.
- Won the Scottish League Cup with Aberdeen in 1995, scoring in the semi-final.
- Scored over 100 goals in both the English and Scottish professional leagues combined.
Did You Know?
He worked as a scaffolder during the early years of his football career.
Windass is one of only a few players to have scored in the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, FA Cup, League Cup, and Football League Trophy.
His son, Josh Windass, also became a professional footballer, playing for Sheffield Wednesday.
“I've just fulfilled every kid's dream. I've scored the winner at Wembley for my hometown club.”
