Why was William Ralph dean called dixie?

Answer 1

Arguably, the greatest centre forward ever seen, "Dixie" was so called because of a dark complexion. In the, less sensitive, lingo of those far off days, some (mistakenly) thought he had "a touch of the tar brush" in his family. The great man took this as something of an insult and insisted on being called Bill by his friends and those he met in passing. Dixie bands and Black and White Minstrels were popular acts of their time and it is probably this that gave people the connection.