Members Work

Articles and writing from Heritage Society members and contributors

John McPherson and the Kilmarnock Connection

John McPherson and the Kilmarnock Connection

The area around Glencairn Square in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock is nowadays mostly given over to a modern retail park which bears the same name. In the 1880s, however, it was surrounded by rows of tenement-style housing that sheltered this working-class community – many of whom were employed at nearby G & SWR Locomotive Works – from the elements. Living in Glencairn Square at that time was Alexander Dick and he would, unwittingly, form a close connection between this community and Everton Football Club. Always known as Sandy, he began playing 'fitba' in Kilmarnock before joining the Merseyside club…
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Bethell Robinson – a Man of Many Clubs

Bethell Robinson was undoubtedly a man of many clubs. When the inaugural Football League season ended 30 March 1889, the Everton full-back Nick Ross returned to his former club Preston North End while his partner, Sandy Dick, returned to the family home in Kilmarnock. The club, however, had arranged fixtures that would take them in to the month of May so they invited several players to make a guest appearance. One of this group was the much-travelled Bethell Robinson. Named after his father, he was born in April 1861 in the fishing port of Fleetwood, and was the first child…
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Sam Strettle

Sam Strettle

Born at the family-owned foundry on 2 February 1886, Sammy Strettle was the sixth child of Thomas who, along with his father-in-law, manufactured iron files at 125 Knutsford Road in Warrington. His mother's name was Elizabeth. By 1901, with the foundry now closed, the Strettle family had decamped to nearby Fothergill Street where Sammy had found employment in a wire works. Census records revealed that his father later became a works manager and, at the time of the 1911 survey, had moved the family home to Prescot on the outskirts of Liverpool. In the meantime, Sam Strettle had obtained employment…
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Only Once a Blue (Part 9): John Hannan

Conveniently situated on the North East coast of Scotland, the seaport of Dundee earned for itself the title of 'Juteopolis' because of the large quantities of the vegetable fibre imported to the town which were then spun into rope and canvas. The Tayside town also imported a large amount of flax from the Baltic countries, which was used to make linen. This form of industry provided employment for a budding young footballer with the name of John Hannan, born 28 April 1884, at 53 Hospital Wynd. He was the 2nd child of Daniel, a jute mill overseer, and Jane. The…
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Mick Higgins – the Original True Blue

Mick Higgins – the Original True Blue

Mike Higgins No other player can claim a tighter bond with the early development of Everton Football Club than 'good old' Mike Higgins who can surely lay claim to the title of 'Original True Blue'. From the start of club records, he can be found representing them when they first appeared on Stanley Park. Higgins was with the club during their one-year tenure at Priory Road and took part in the first game Everton played at Anfield. He was the longest serving member of the playing staff, when they became founder members of the Football League in 1888. His Irish born father,…
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Gray Wolves

League Cup Winner With Wolverhampton Wanderers 1984 Fa cup winner and Goalscorer alongside fellow Goalscorer and Frontman Graeme Sharp “I loved playing at Everton.  Once you got on that pitch, the atmosphere was great – the comments you got when you were taking a corner or throw-in were brilliant.” These are the words of Kenny Hibbitt, a Wolverhampton Wanderers stalwart of the 1970s and 1980s – and a member of the last Wolves side to win a league fixture at Goodison Park fully 40 years ago. It was on 15 September 1979 that John Barnwell’s visitors prevailed 3-2, with the help of…
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John Dewar

John Dewar

Thanks to the British Newspaper Archive website, the mystery of John Dewar, who made a single appearance for Everton, can be revealed. He was born in September 1867, in the Renfrewshire village of Strathbungo (today part of the City of Glasgow), and was the second child of Andrew, a Stonemason, and his wife Janet. The family had relocated to the Kinning Park area of Glasgow where John became an apprentice to his father and played junior football with Well Park, with whom he won the Glasgow Junior Cup. Around 1882 he progressed to senior football with Thistle FC (once a…
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Alfred John Schofield

Alfred John Schofield

Following in the footsteps of Edgar Chadwick, Alf Schofield first saw the light of day through the mill chimneys of Blackburn in Lancashire.  He was born on 16 July 1876 at 39 Alexandra Street, the fourth child of David, a machine maker, and his wife, Betsy. However, following the early death of her husband, Betsy moved Alfred and his siblings to the comfortable surroundings at 48 Brighton Road in Birkdale where on the 1881 census she is reported to be 'living by own means'. Alfred Schofield joined Everton as an amateur in December 1895, and was first seen by the…
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The Three Young Blues

The Three Young Blues

...Who played together in that historic first game at Anfield on 27 September 1884 Like many of the young teenagers of Victorian Liverpool, William Gibson, Walter Richards and Thomas Whittle would have been drawn towards the new game, association football, that was beginning to sweep the land and would have spent their early teens watching such teams as Everton on Stanley Park. They also would have observed that this particular club had, by 1882, attracted the largest number spectators to their unguarded playing area. The following year, when they moved to an enclosure, William Gibson appeared in their line-up. Born…
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Only Once a Blue (8) Walter Smalley

Everton had just excepted the invitation to become founder members of the Football League when Tommy Costley declared himself 'unavailable' for the home game on 2 April. His place was taken by the elder brother of the club goalkeeper, Walter Smalley.   Born 1864 at Over Darwen in Lancashire, he was the eldest child of Thomas, a cotton mill manager, and Jane. The 1881 census recorded the Smalley family, now with four children, living in a larger home at St Matthews Terrace in Preston, where Walter had found employment as a clerk. He has also become a member of North…
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