Background
Ottewell was born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, and captained the Derbyshire Schools football team
Ottewell was born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, and captained the Derbyshire Schools football team
He played as an inside forward. He began his senior 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.
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.
After the war he remained with Chesterfield until June 1947 when he joined Birmingham City. 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, but in December he was allowed to leave for Luton Town, where he finished off the 1947-1948 season in the Third Division South.
Ottewell then signed for Nottingham Forest, who were relegated from the Second Division at the end of his first season with the club He left for Mansfield Town in January 1950 for what the Nottingham Evening Post called "a substantial fee", and helped the club to runners-up spot in the Third Division North in his first full season.
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 1952-1953 season, and he retired in 1953.
Ottewell moved into non-league football as player-manager of Spalding United, and was appointed manager of Lockheed Leamington prior to the 1960-1961 season. After guiding the team to third place in their first season at the higher level, Ottewell led them to the Midland League title in 1964-1965. He remained manager until January 1969, tenure which made him the longest-serving Leamington manager of the modern era.