On his move to Blackpool Dodds later said, ""It was a lovely sunny day and after the sooty streets of Sheffield I remember thinking it was like coming to paradise."" He made his "Seasiders" debut on 11 March 1939, in a defeat at Charlton Athletic, scoring Blackpool's only goal. He went on to score four in a home win over Middlesbrough and quickly became a favourite. The Second World War intervened, and the Football League programme was abandoned. Dodds joined the Royal Air Force, and was stationed in Blackpool as a PT instructor. He continued to play for Blackpool, with most of his goals in the war years coming in regional competitions. In the North Regional League, he scored 65 goals in 1941-2, and then 47 goals in 1942-3. In 1943, Blackpool beat Sheffield Wednesday over two legs to win the League Cup North, and then defeated League Cup South champions Arsenal 4–2, mainly thanks to right winger Stanley Matthews. He scored eight goals against Stockport County in 1941, and seven goals against Tranmere Rovers in 1942, including a hat-trick in just 2½ minutes. For over 60 years it stood as the fastest hat-trick in the Football League, before James Hayter bettered it by ten seconds in 2004.