Players – Everton FC Heritage Society

Red Cards, Late Arrivals and Goalie Wars – A History of Everton’s Emergency Goalkeepers

06

Apr

0 Comments

Latest, Paul Owens, Players

Red Cards, Late Arrivals and Goalie Wars – A History of Everton’s Emergency Goalkeepers

Paul Owens During every school holiday bar the Christmas break, I run one-v-one football competitions close to my home in East Yorkshire. As the name suggests, the hugely popular ‘Hull and East Riding Goalie Wars’ tournaments are aimed primarily at budding keepers and are a fabulous way of bringing members of the region’s goalkeepers’ union together, which is something I am extremely proud of. Notwithstanding, the competitions are open to anyone who buys into our slogan: ‘Save theirs; Score yours; Have fun!’ A number of past winners have actually been outfielders, who decided to pull on the gloves to see…

Alec Troup – Small in Stature, Mighty in Impact

27

Mar

By Rob Sawyer

0 Comments

1920-1929, 1930-1939, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Alec Troup – Small in Stature, Mighty in Impact

Rob Sawyer Dixie Dean’s goalscoring exploits gained legendary status, long before he hung up his boots in 1939. His instincts and ability to plunder goals were unsurpassed, but he was always quick to recognise the contribution to his remarkable goal haul of his Everton wingmen. Without their ‘assists’, to coin the modern parlance, his figures would still have been impressive, but somewhat less so. Bobby Irvine, Sam Chedgzoy, Ted Critchley, Jimmy Stein, Albert Geldard, Jack Coulter and Torry Gillick were all top class outside rights and lefts, but it is fair to say that Dean’s highest praise was reserved for…

Blues Celebrate a Night That Made History

26

Mar

By Rob Sawyer

0 Comments

1980-1989, Articles, Events, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Blues Celebrate a Night That Made History

Rob Sawyer Forty-one years ago, on 24 April 1985, Goodison Park was rocked to its foundations on one of the greatest nights the beloved stadium has played host to. Cheered on by 49,476 vociferous fans, who, according to Howard Kendall, had the ability to suck the ball into the Gwladys Street net, Everton came from a goal down to defeat Bayern Munich, 3-1, and proceed to the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. On 25 March of this year, Everton players, backroom staff, supporters and people from the media gathered at Hill Dickinson Stadium for a nostalgic evening to…

John ‘Jock’ Gillespie: From Hampden Park to the Battlefield

14

Mar

By Richie Gillham

0 Comments

1878-1889, Articles, Latest, Players, Richard Gillham

John ‘Jock’ Gillespie: From Hampden Park to the Battlefield

Richie Gillham John 'Jock' Gillespie John “Jock” Gillespie was born on Tuesday 15 November 1870, in Falkirk. Jock and his three brothers were all good footballers. His brother, George L. Gillespie, was a well-known player of the day who played for Queen’s Park, another brother, Alexander, played for both Queen’s Park and Falkirk. William Gillespie, a third brother, also made occasional appearances on the football field and was a keen cyclist. Their father John, a Ship Carrier , too, was known as an athlete of some prowess. George was one of the founders of the Falkirk Amateurs Football club too.…

From Birkenhead to El Ballet Azul: The Billy Higgins Story

26

Feb

By Rob Sawyer

0 Comments

1940-1949, 1950-1959, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

From Birkenhead to El Ballet Azul: The Billy Higgins Story

Rob Sawyer Billy Higgins with Everton in 1946 When Everton played the Millonarios club of Bogotá in Florida in the summer of 2021, it provided an intriguing link to the past. In 1950, the Columbian club was at the epicentre of a storm over footballers being lured from British clubs to a so-called ‘renegade league’. In the immediate post-war era, footballers employed by English Football League clubs were on a maximum wage of £12 per week plus moderate bonuses and long service rewarded with periodic ‘benefit cheques’. Although well-paid, compared to the typical blue-collar worker, these sporting stars were far…

Earning their stars and stripes – international standard goalkeeping

16

Feb

By Paul Owens

0 Comments

1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019, 2020-2029, Everton Women, Latest, Paul Owens, Players

Earning their stars and stripes – international standard goalkeeping

Paul Owens Barring an unfortunate injury or a mind-boggling decision regarding team selection by Thomas Tuchel, Jordan Pickford will line up for England this summer at the 2026 World Cup finals, which are to be held in the United States of America and Canada. Everton’s outstanding last line of defence went the whole of the Three Lions’ qualifying campaign without conceding a goal and is desperate for international success at his third World Cup finals, telling BBC Sport’s Kelly Somers in November 2025, ‘It has been that long since England has won something and to be a part of that…

12

Feb

By Rob Sawyer

0 Comments

1960-1969, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

The Life of Barrie Rees

Rob Sawyer Rhyl-born Barrie Rees followed in the footsteps of South Walian striker Keith Webber by swapping life at Goodison Park for the Goldstone Ground in the 1960s. Barrie (often written as Barry) was born on 4 February 1944 and lived on Mayfield Grove, attending Christchurch Junior School and Glyndwr Secondary School. In 1959, as a fifteen-year-old, he attained Welsh Schoolboy football honours as a forward in a Wales v Ireland match played in Bangor. Rhyl FC of the Cheshire League, had him on amateur forms, but on the recommendation of Freddie Bennett, the Toffees’ man in North Wales, he was…

‘The Accidental Footballer – An Entertaining Evening with Pat Nevin’

06

Feb

By Rob Sawyer

3 Comments

1980-1989, 1990-1999, Events, Film and Media, Latest, Mike Royden, Players, Rob Sawyer

‘The Accidental Footballer – An Entertaining Evening with Pat Nevin’

Rob Sawyer . Pat Nevin with presenter Rob Sawyer Rivalling Bruce Springsteen for endurance on stage, Pat Nevin delivered two-and-a-half hours of scintillating insights and reminiscences at second of the Everton FC Heritage Society’s run of social/talk evenings, held at the Denbigh Castle. The popular city centre pub's function room was packed to the rafters with supporters keen to see the former Everton footballer, Motherwell FC CEO, broadcaster, and culture connoisseur. He did not disappoint. Requiring only minimal prompting from host Rob Sawyer, the Glaswegian delivered a seamless series of brilliant anecdotes - often hilarious, sometimes poignant - from his…

27

Jan

By Rob Sawyer

5 Comments

1970-1979, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Forever Everton – The Story of the Song

Rob Sawyer In Goodison’s final years as the venue for Everton’s men's team, kick-off was preceded by the Toffees’ musical ‘holy trinity’ of Forever Everton, Grand Old Team and Theme from Z-Cars - with Spirit of the Blues being added to the repertoire more recently. With the move to Hill Dickinson Stadium, these have been joined by The Las’ classic There She Goes. Advert for Neil Sedaka at the Wooky Hollow, September 1972 Here, I delve into the backstory to Forever Everton – 2 minutes and 36 seconds of proud Bluenose breast-beating with a brass backing. As many now know,…

Ian Macowat (1965-2026) – 1984 FA Youth Cup Winner Remembered

21

Jan

By Rob Sawyer

2 Comments

1980-1989, Latest, Obituary, Players, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

Ian Macowat (1965-2026) – 1984 FA Youth Cup Winner Remembered

Rob Sawyer Ian at Bellefield in 1983-84 season Former Everton reserve team player and 1984 FA Youth Cup winner, Ian Macowat, has passed away at the age of sixty. Whilst studying at Park High School in Hindle, Ian represented Wigan and Greater Manchester Boys and was capped nine times by England Schoolboys. He joined the Blues’ youth set up as an apprentice in 1982, turning professional in the autumn of 1983. Contemporaries included Rob Wakenshaw, Steve Bateman, Darren Hughes and Ian Marshall. In the year above were the likes of John Morrissey Jr, Jimmy Coyle, Stuart Rimmer and Ian Bishop.…