Everton – Everton FC Heritage Society

John Dewar

0 Comments1878-1889, History, Members Work, Players, Tony OnslowEverton, Sunderland Albion

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…

Son of My Father – The Tale of Two Joes

0 Comments1970-1979, Articles, History, Interview, Members Work, Players, Steve ZocekCeltic, Everton, Hibernian

Welcome to Part Five of Son of my Father. This time, I feature a football family from Glasgow: Joe McBride (Jnr) who played for Everton, and his father Joe McBride (Snr) who will be most remembered for his playing days at Celtic Park in the 1960’s. Joe senior actually had a great personal statistic by being top scorer at every club he played for. We start with Joe (Snr) who was born in 1938, a stone throws away from Rangers’ Ibrox Park. His football career began as a very young 15-year-old at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock. After 57 games and 24…

Gerry Mullan – When Irish Eyes are Smiling

0 Comments1980-1989, Articles, History, Interview, Steve ZocekBallymena, Everton, Gerry Mullin, Glentoran, Northern Ireland

Gerry Mullan signed for Everton from Ballymena United in October 1980. To date he was the most expensive Irish league player at £30,000. Gerry failed to make a first team appearance for the Toffees but gained 4 caps for his country-Norther Ireland. Gerry is quite a private man, but was very helpful in assisting me with an insight to his time at Everton. Gerry Middle row 2nd from the left SIGNING FOR EVERTON "After 4 reasonably good seasons at Ballymena, I trained really hard in my fifth season, trying to push myself to the limit. As well as Everton, a…

Terry Cochrane – an interview with Steve Zocek

0 Comments1970-1979, Articles, InterviewBurnley, Everton, Gillingham, Northern Ireland, Terry Cochrane

Terry in his Gillingham days Terry Cochrane started his football career in Northern Ireland with Derry City then Linfield. His displays for The Blues started to attract attention from football clubs in England, one in particular Everton catching the eye of fellow Billy Bingham. He was invited over to Everton for a week’s trial. Terry kindly told me of his experience at Everton. When I was at Linfield, I was asked to go to Merseyside to have a trial with Everton under Billy Bingham. I was put up in digs near Bellefield where I would walk into training every morning. I…

Son of My father (Part Three) -Jeremy Charles

0 Comments1970-1979, Articles, History, Interview, Members Work, Steve ZocekEverton, Oxford United, QPR, Swansea City, Wales

This is part three of Son of my Father. John Charles and brother Mel in 1955 - the men who founded a football dynastyCopyright REX FEATURES Mel Charles was a famous Welsh international who played his club football mostly at Swansea Town, as the club was then called. Mel had a son called Jeremy, who, like his father, went on to play for the same club and country. As a youngster, Jeremy was invited to Bellefield where he spent a week on trial. This Is Jeremy’s version of events. I was playing for the local schoolboys in Swansea, and in…

Tommy Wheeldon: the Third New Boy

0 Comments1970-1979, Articles, History, Interview, Members Work, Steve ZocekCalgary Storm, Everton, West Ham United

On Tuesday 7th December 1976,Everton manager Billy Bingham made a triple swoop by signing Duncan McKenzie from Anderlecht, Bruce Rioch from Derby County and Tommy Wheeldon. Tommy who? You know, Tommy Wheeldon from St Helens Town? Never heard of him? You have now. Liverpool schoolboys in cologne I was intrigued to find the truth about Tommy, an Evertonian from birth, who was expected to reach better things in football. Tommy takes up this wonderful story. I played for England Under 18’s and attracted interest from both Everton and West Ham United and a few more clubs. John Lyall the manager of West Ham made contact with me, and I also received a letter from Ron Greenwood the former…

Harry Catterick’s Centenary

0 Comments1960-1969, Articles, Events, History, Managers, Rob SawyerEverton, Harry Catterick

Last Friday, the Everton FC Heritage Society organised and hosted the ‘Catterick 100’ event to celebrate the life and achievements of Harry Catterick - who would have turned 100 on 26th November. He is remembered and celebrated on the Blue half of Merseyside for his stellar managerial achievements in the 1960s. His trophy haul for the Toffees has been eclipsed only by Howard Kendall. Attendees at the celebration event, held in the People’s Club Lounge at Goodison Park, included members of the Catterick family, Heritage Society members, club officials and supporters. Master of ceremonies, Ken Rogers, led the attendees through…

Everton FC’s 1909 pre-season tour of South America, Edwardian style

0 Comments1900-1909, Articles, David Prentice, History, Members WorkEverton, Tottenham Hotspur, Tour of Argentina

The amazing story of Everton's pioneering 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…

When The Toffees Outshone The Blades – Anfield Under Illumination

0 Comments1890-1899, Articles, History, Members Work, Richard GillhamAnfield, Everton, Sheffield United

The year 1878 not only saw the foundation of the football team that would become Everton FC but, in October of that year, the first experiments in playing artificially-illuminated matches. At Sheffield United’s Bramhall Lane ground, dynamo-powered lamps were mounted on timber gantries to provide the light for a match contested by teams made up of representatives from local clubs. The ‘Blues’ ran out 2-0 winners. But it was here on Merseyside, on 8th January 1890, that one of the most significant trials of this nascent technology occurred. On this occasion Paraffin-fuelled lamps, manufactured by A. C. Wells & Co.…

Everton – The Baseball Years

1 Comment1920-1929, 1930-1939, Articles, History, Members Work, Richard Gillham, Rob SawyerBritish Baseball League, Everton, Liverpool Trojans, MLB, Sir John Moores

The BATS British American Tobacco Team with John Moores (2nd from left in hat), circa 1935 Baseball may be a minority sport in the UK but 80 years ago Merseyside was a hotbed of this popular American pastime. Had it not been for the outbreak of War in 1939 perhaps it would have gained a proper foothold in our sporting life. Folklore has it that William Ralph ‘Dixie’ Dean was once introduced to the legendary Babe Ruth (of Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fame) at a football match. Dean recalled to journalist John Roberts his encounter with Babe.…