Players – Everton FC Heritage Society

T.G. Jones and Bangor’s Enduring Spirit of ’62

0 Comments1960-1969, Articles, Players, Rob Sawyer

Rob Sawyer A youthful T.G. Jones Thomas George Jones – T.G. for short, and Tommy to his friends and admirers - is acclaimed as the classiest centre-half to have set foot on Goodison’s turf. Imperious in the air, cool as a cucumber with the ball at his feet in his own penalty box and capable of delivering a rocket shot, no less than the great Dixie Dean declared Jones to be the greatest all-round player he had ever seen. Seasoned observers dubbed him the Prince of Centre-Halves. Part of the hallowed Toffees title-winning team of 1938/39, he was robbed of…

Sam Chedgzoy – A Star on Both Sides of The Atlantic

0 Comments1910-1919, 1920-1929, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Chedgzoy is a brilliant raider, a clean player and a companiable man. Athletic News - 1921 Rob Sawyer In 1924, Samuel Chedgzoy wrote himself into the annals of football history for his role in forcing a hasty change to the rules of the sport. This stunt (more of which later) was but a small part of the remarkable, and sometimes intriguing, life of one of Everton and England’s finest outside rights – and, alongside Joe Mercer and Stan Cullis, one of Ellesmere Port’s greatest sons. The surname has a slightly exotic feel – Eastern European maybe? The truth is more…

Lance Johnston – A Knight of the Round Table at Inside-Left?

0 Comments1910-1919, Articles, Jamie Yates, Latest, Players

Jamie Yates Scouring old newspaper reports, statutory records, census returns and history books, while working through and cross-checking the relevant dates and stories of the men who played for Everton in years gone by, turns up all sorts of interesting events, tangents and curiosities. The full names of a number of those who turned out in the early colours and patterns of Everton jersey on the various strips of grass that the club called home, and several who ran out in blue in the first half century or so at Goodison Park, really stand out; Benjamin Howard-Baker Samuel Bolton Ashworth…

Jack Coulter: From Whiteabbey to Goodison Park

0 Comments1930-1939, Articles, Books, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Super fan lifts lid on the story that puts Everton's 'greatest winger' back in the spotlight Everton super fan David France reviews a new book that tells the story of Jackie Coulter - who he regards as the Blues greatest-ever winger Just who is the greatest winger in Everton history? That’s an awfully big question to ask. The likes of Andrei Kanchelskis plus Steven Pienaar and Mikel Arteta – although probably more wide midfielders in their style – have starred in the Premier League era while Kevin Sheedy and Trevor Steven were legendary figures of Howard Kendall’s great side of…

Neil Robinson (1957-2022)

2 CommentsLatest, Mike Royden, Obituary, Players, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

A Tribute The sudden, unexpected, passing of Neil Robinson, at the age of sixty-five, has come as a shock to Everton FC Heritage Society members and the fanbases of his former clubs. Neil had the Bluest of credentials. Born into a family of Evertonians, he spent his early years round the corner from Goodison Park on Spellow Lane. His father, Jim, had been head barman at the Winslow Hotel on Goodison Road in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Sadly Jim was paralysed in an industrial accident when Neil was a child. The Robinson family in 1957, Neil the infant…

Sir Dobbo – Goodison Aristocrat

0 Comments1970-1979, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Rob Sawyer in Conversation with Martin Dobson (speaking in October 2013) The 1970’s success at Anfield cast a long, dark, shadow across Stanley Park to Goodison. Blue beacons of light were few and far between but, perhaps, Martin Dobson shone brightest. Christened “Sir Dobbo” by Andy King, in humorous deference to the class he exuded on and off the pitch, this thoroughbred midfielder’s arrival from Burnley in August 1974 signalled the departure of the last member of the Holy Trinity. Cultured and powerful with an eye for goal – there is no greater compliment than to state that he would…

Son of my Father (Part 15): Paul and Jordan Rideout

0 Comments1990-1999, 2010-2019, Articles, Players, Steve Zocek

The next item in this series takes us to the USA to the Rideout residence. Paul Rideout, of course, will be remembered for his headed goal at Wembley in 1995 which brought the FA Cup to Merseyside. Sadly, no silverware has followed since that May afternoon, so his goal remains strong in the memory of Evertonians. Paul, it will be remembered, hit the ground running in the early days of his career when he started at Swindon Town and made his début at the tender age of sixteen, becoming the youngest player to feature for the Robins. Paul penned a…

Lest We Forget

0 Comments1910-1919, Articles, History, Latest, Players, Rest in Peace, Tony Wainwright, WW1

NB This article was due to appear in the Everton v Tottenham Hotspur Remembrance Day fixture of 7 November 2021. Unfortunately, due to the sad death of former manager Walter Smith, it was held over for his memorial article due to lack of space. It is reprinted in full below. Corporal 19024 Tom Gracie, 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Edinburgh) The Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment) The Life of Tom Gracie Among the names of the Fallen of Everton FC featured on the panels by the Dixie Dean statue is Tom Gracie. Born in Glasgow in 1899, he was a qualified bookkeeper,…

Jack Taylor – Everton’s Son of the Rock

0 Comments1890-1899, 1900-1909, 1910-1919, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

by Rob Sawyer ‘He played anywhere readily and played well anywhere. No Everton player has left Evertonians with a more fragrant memory.’ Thomas Keates (1928) Portrait of Jack during his playing days There must have been something in the water in Dunbartonshire in the second half of the 19th century. Between 1889 and 1897, six footballers with strong connections to the Clydeside town of Dumbarton represented the Toffees. First there was Alex Latta, followed by Richard ‘Dickie’ Boyle, Abe Hartley and the Bell brothers (John and Laurie). But only one, John ‘Jack’ Taylor, would get his hands on silverware whilst…

Warney Cresswell – The Prince of Full Backs

1 Comment1930-1939, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

By Rob Sawyer Warney Cresswell at Goodison in 1929 The retirement of Leighton Baines in 2020 reignited the debate about who has been Everton’s finest left-back. Unsurprisingly, the Kirkby-born England international was in the mix, along with World Cup hero Ray Wilson and the combative but effective Pat Van Den Hauwe. A natural tendency to favour players we have seen with our own eyes makes ranking players spanning many decades fraught with difficulty. The tactical evolution of the sport is a further complication. The modern breed of full-backs play an important role in attacking movements whereas the likes of Billy…