Johnny Dexter facts for kids
Johnny Dexter was a made-up football player who starred in a popular British comic called Roy of the Rovers. He appeared in the comic from the 1970s to the 1990s. Johnny was a strong defender, often playing as a centre-back for Danefield United and the England team. He also played left-back for Melchester Rovers. He was one of the most liked characters in the comic. In fact, he was the only character besides Roy himself to appear on the cover of one of the comic's yearly books! Fans of old British sports comics still remember him fondly.
Johnny's First Story: The Hard Man
Johnny Dexter first appeared in the very first issue of the weekly Roy of the Rovers comic. This was on 25 September 1976. He was the main character in a story called The Hard Man. He got this name because he played football very tough and sometimes had a fiery temper. This often led to him getting into trouble with the referees!
Johnny first played for a team called Danefield United. Later, he moved to a Spanish team named Real Granpala. There, he met a Hungarian manager named Viktor Boskovic. Viktor liked Johnny so much that he followed him back to Danefield when Johnny returned there.
Barrie Tomlinson wrote this comic strip, and Doug Maxted usually drew it. The story was often funny and light-hearted. Viktor Boskovic, who was a bit silly and dramatic, added a lot of humor. He would often kiss his players when they did well or even faint during exciting moments! Johnny also found himself in funny situations off the pitch. For example, once he traveled to Italy to sign for a top team. After saying no to the team's owner, he ended up in some tricky situations.
The Hard Man comic strip ran for nine years. It ended when a new player, Bobby Williams, took Johnny's spot on the team. Johnny then asked to leave the club, and Viktor agreed. Even though Johnny had played for England, the only team that wanted him was Burnside Athletic. This was the worst team in the Football League at the time. Johnny left Danefield United for the last time in the "Hard Man" strip on 10 August 1985.
Dexter's Dozen: A New Start
After moving to Burnside, Johnny Dexter started a new story called Dexter's Dozen. Barrie Tomlinson continued to write the story, but Mike White became the new artist. Mike's drawings were much more realistic than the funny style used before.
At first, this new story was serious. It showed the real struggles of a small, struggling football club. But soon, Viktor Boskovic came back as Burnside's manager! He brought back his funny antics. For example, he once made the team wear clown costumes during half-time because they were playing badly. He also made them train on a huge obstacle course, even pushing players into water if they didn't do well!
This strip lasted only one season. During that time, Johnny helped his new club get promoted to a higher league. The last episode of "Dexter's Dozen" appeared in the comic on 16 August 1986.
Joining Melchester Rovers
In the summer of 1986, the main team in the Roy of the Rovers comic, Melchester Rovers, had faced a terrible event where many players were lost. Johnny Dexter joined the club as one of manager Roy Race's new signings. He helped Roy rebuild the team. Johnny joined Melchester Rovers for free and became a very important player for several seasons. He later switched to playing left-back.
Johnny continued to play for Rovers until the weekly comic stopped in 1993. He then played for them in the shorter-lived Roy of the Rovers Monthly comic. His temper sometimes caused arguments with other managers like Blackie Gray and Mervyn Wallace. He even had a memorable fight on the pitch with his own teammate, Roy's son Rocky!
While playing for Melchester Rovers, Johnny helped them win several big trophies. They won the Littlewoods Cup in 1987, the Football League Championship in 1988 and 1992, and the FA Cup in 1990.
Johnny's Football Career
Playing for England
Johnny Dexter was known as one of the toughest tackling midfielders in English football. He played for his country several times, earning 8 caps (which means he played in 8 international matches). One famous game was against Johan Seegrun's Netherlands team in February 1978. Sadly, he never played in a World Cup. However, he was chosen for Roy Race's dream team for the 1982 Argentina tournament.
Becoming a Manager
When the Roy of the Rovers comic strip returned in the BBC's Match of the Day magazine in 1997, Johnny Dexter was shown as a manager. He was managing a team called Castlemere in the FA Premier League. He led his team to the FA Cup Final in 1999, but they lost to Melchester Rovers.
The 2018 Reboot
In the 2018 version of Roy of the Rovers, Johnny Dexter was shown as a Melchester Rovers legend. After he stopped playing, he became a coach for the team. Johnny is seen as one of Melchester's biggest supporters, just like Roy's father. He was also the right-hand man for Melchester's manager, Kevin Mouse.
After a disagreement with Melchester's owner, Johnny was fired. But with Roy's help, he took a job managing Melchester's women's club, Sowerby. At Sowerby, Johnny coached Roy's energetic younger sister, Roxanne (known as "Rocky"), and Sowerby's captain, Ffion Guthrie. Ffion is the sister of Melchester's captain, Vic Guthrie. Later, after Melchester's owner and an agent faced serious legal trouble, Kevin Mouse brought Johnny back to his coaching position at Melchester.
