
Everton FC’s 1909 pre-season tour of South America, Edwardian style – David Prentice
Edwardian style Amazing story of Everton's pioneering 1909 tour of South America
A contemporary cigarette card of Bert Freeman, the star of Everton's 1909 tour of South America.
In the summer months of 1909 a 13-strong Everton FC playing staff led by two directors and a trainer, together with travelling companions Tottenham Hotspur, travelled 14,000 miles and spent more than six weeks at sea, visiting Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina – “to introduce and develop first class football.”
Their story is a fascinating one – and thanks to the diligence of director E. Bainbridge and an exhaustive tour diary he produced for the Echo, the story of the ground-breaking tour can be retold a century later.
So settle down with a cup of finest Brazilian and a corned beef sandwich, and enjoy the exploits of the Evertonian adventurers.
Like many great Evertonian trips, the story began at Lime Street station.
The Blues boarded a steam train to London Euston on Thursday...