Clocking On… by Steve Johnson
Today’s 2.05pm kick- off inevitably gets supporters talking about the ‘ good old days’ when we
remember all football matches being played on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm… but just how common was that 3pm time slot?
Well, it depends on how far back you look! Prior to the Premier League era, most of Everton’s home matches, aside from those played in midweek, did indeed commence at the ‘traditional’ time of 3pm – but that had only been the case from the early 1960s onwards.
From 1957 to late 1961 Everton’s Saturday kick-offs had alternated mostly between 3pm and 3.15pm, and before that we varied primarily amongst 2.15, 2.30, 2.45, 3.00 and 3.15pm starts!
Up until World War 1 the picture was even more unsettled, with all sorts of different afternoon kick-off times in vogue – although 3.30 and 4.00pm were much more prevalent.
So why the moveable start times before 1957? ‘Light’ is the answer!
Everton installed floodlights in 1957 (as did Chelsea), using...