Hull City legend Dean Windass has spoken about his diagnosis. (Image: Getty Images)
Hull City legend Dean Windass has previously spoken openly about his devastating dementia diagnosis and his strained relationship with Wrexham star son Josh. The 57-year-old is best remembered for his iconic goal in the 2008 Championship play-off final against Bristol City.
Windass, then 39, scored the only goal of the game with a memorable volley that propelled his boyhood club into the Premier League. Hull will be hoping to repeat Windass’ moment of brilliance when they face Middlesbrough in this year’s Wembley final on Saturday. Eldest son Josh has followed in his father’s footsteps with a football career and has improved since moving to Wrexham last summer.
Off the pitch, Dean spoke candidly about his dementia diagnosis and his bond with his two sons. Here, we take a closer look at life away from the iconic sport of playoff finals.
In January 2025, it was revealed that Windass had been diagnosed with stage 2 dementia. The news was revealed by former Manchester United defender David May on BBC Breakfast after Windass gave permission to speak about his condition.
The former Middlesbrough and Bradford City striker had been persuaded to undergo the test by John Stiles, son of 1966 World Cup winner Nobby Stiles, who works with Football Families for Justice. Ms Windass spoke candidly about how she is coping with dementia following her early stage diagnosis.
“They said I could be like this for six months, 10 years, or it could get worse,” he explained to the Guardian. “I’m not happy about it. If they told me I was okay, I wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. But tomorrow I could go out and get hit by a bus.”
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The retired centre-forward said his diagnosis was partly due to his career as a head football coach. He called for fewer heading drills during training to reduce the risk of players developing dementia in the future.
“When I was diagnosed, they asked me how many times I headed the ball,” Windass said. “It wasn’t just a fact on the day of the game, it was just practicing crossing and finishing every day, or if you’re a centre-half, heading towards goal as much as you can.
“After every session, I would finish to a certain extent and if my opponent put in a cross, I would take a header or a volley. I didn’t think anything about it. Back then I couldn’t think about dementia, but now I can. So let’s see if we can stop it at the root and reduce the damage now.”
Dean spoke about his relationship with his son Josh Windass, a key player at Wrexham. (Image: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Plea to Wrexham star Josh Windass
Earlier this year, Dean revealed he had lost contact with both of his sons and publicly appealed to Wrexham midfielder Josh to get in touch. Looking back on the broken relationship, he admitted that the root cause was not telling his children about his dementia diagnosis.
“I haven’t talked to my two kids right now, and that’s probably partly my own fault…I didn’t tell them about the diagnosis because I didn’t want to worry them,” Windass said on the Clutch 9 podcast in January. “Josh is in the public eye.
“I was trying to do the right thing and it backfired and it broke my heart. The other day I posted on Twitter, ‘Please reach out to me, Josh,’ and what’s going on right now is killing me.
“1.5 million people watched the show and I thought this was the only way to contact him because he doesn’t answer his phone calls. I don’t know where he lives. He has moved to Wrexham.”
“My youngest son doesn’t talk to me now because something else happened, so my two kids don’t talk to me either. I think, ‘What did I do that was so bad? I’m not that bad.'”
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She added: “Josh is now very successful, has a wife and a granddaughter, and it’s hard because he hasn’t seen his granddaughter in a year. I saw Brooklyn Beckham in the paper the other day and I’m like, ‘Life is too short.’ So if Josh sees this, please give me a call. He’s my little son.”
Earlier that month, Dean wrote an emotional message for his son Josh, urging him to get in touch for his 32nd birthday. On the pitch, the Wrexham star excelled in his first season, starting in midfield and scoring 15 goals in 41 league games as Phil Parkinson’s side missed out on making the play-offs.
