Rob Sawyer – Everton FC Heritage Society

The Toffees Return Home to Anfield – For One night Only

18

Sep

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1900-1909, Articles, Goodison, Latest, Rob Sawyer

The Toffees Return Home to Anfield – For One night Only

Rob Sawyer Everton FC left Anfield in 1892, never to return. Right? Well, not quite. The schism in the Everton committee that led the Toffees to up sticks to Goodison Park on the site of Mere Green Field, leaving John Houlding to form a new club, Liverpool FC, to play at the vacated ground is well documented. However, by the time Houlding passed away in 1902, much of the antagonism had abated, and Everton players were among the pall bearers at his funeral. Further evidence of the thawing of relations between the once bitter rivals came in the summer of…

15

Sep

By Rob Sawyer

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Latest, Obituary, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

Roy Parnell (1943-2025)

Roy Parnell Everton FC Heritage Society sends its condolences to the friends and family of Roy Parnell, who died on 10 September 2025 at the age of eighty-one. Roy was a product of Everton’s youth system, who reached the first team, but spent the majority of his senior playing career with Tranmere Rovers and Bury FC. A Birkenhead and England schoolboy inside-forward, Roy joined the Toffees’ ground staff in the summer of 1959, along with the likes of George Sharples, Pat Dunne and Barry Rees. Having asked to be tried at right-back, he promptly found his best position (much as…

02

Jul

By Rob Sawyer

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1910-1919, Articles, Latest, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer, WW1

The Life and Times of Bobby Parker

‘Parker was a grand leader, strong, virile, earnest - as unruffled as his massive locks.’ Will Cuff - Former Everton Chairman and Secretary by Rob Sawyer Robert Norris Parker entered the world on 27 March 1891. His father, John was a mercantile clerk was married to Janet (née Ramsay), who hailed from Ireland. At the time of his birth, they were living at 73 Denmark Street in Possilpark, to the northeast of central Glasgow. This suburb saw huge population growth in the final decades of the 19th Century, linked to expansion of the Saracen foundry, the area’s major employer. At…

The Bobby Parker Grave Restoration Appeal

26

Jun

By Rob Sawyer

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1910-1919, Articles, Latest, Players, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

The Bobby Parker Grave Restoration Appeal

Rob Sawyer To mark his contribution to Everton, football and his country, EFCHS has undertaken a project to restore the grave of league title winner Bobby Parker. Were it not for the First World War, there is every likelihood that the name Bobby Parker would be uttered in the same breath as Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Fred Geary and Bob Latchford when putting forward the club’s finest goalscorers. Alas, that terrible conflict, injuries he sustained in it and subsequent illness meant that he would fail to rescale the heights of 1914/15, when his 35 goals propelled the Toffees to the…

20

May

By Rob Sawyer

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1950-1959, Latest, Obituary, Rest in Peace, Rob Sawyer

Alec Farrall Remembered

[The banner photograph is the 1953/54 Everton squad. Alec Farrall is pictured on the front row seated, second from the left.] Rob Sawyer The death was announced today, at eighty-nine, of one of Everton's oldest former players, Alec Farrall. Born 3 March 1936, Alec was one of many local lads to emerge through the Blues’ youth system under Cliff Britton. A member of a sporty West Kirby family, by his teens he was representing Cheshire Schoolboys (England Schoolboys caps followed) and was on the radar of scouts from many big clubs, including Wolves, Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. The former…

Derek Temple – an interview with an Everton Giant

17

Mar

By Rob Sawyer

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1960-1969, Film and Media, Latest, Lewis Royden, Mike Royden, Players, Rob Sawyer

Derek Temple – an interview with an Everton Giant

With Rob Sawyer https://youtu.be/Wi01ixepwoE (Click to play) Derek Temple is, quite simply, an Everton treasure. His association with the club as ground staff member, player and supporter, spans seven decades. Scoring the winning goal in the thrilling 1966 FA Cup Final has sometimes overshadowed the Dovecote-born man’s other achievements. Joining the Blues as a prolific teenage centre-forward in 1954, he debuted for the first team in March 1957 before having his career paused for two years due to National Service, some of it in Kenya. On his return, he had to reacclimatise to English football. Blessed with pace and excellent…

19

Feb

By Rob Sawyer

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1930-1939, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

‘Tosh’ – The Tommy Johnson Story

Rob Sawyer Tommy Johnson's most memorable goalscoring feat may have come as a Manchester City player at Goodison Park but he would go on to help Everton back into the top flight in 1931 and lift both the title and FA Cup in successive years. .................................. In September 1928, Tommy Johnson achieved one of the finest scoring feats accomplished at Goodison Park. Sadly for Toffees supporters, his spectacular five-goal haul was achieved two years before he swapped the sky blue of Manchester City for the royal blue of Everton. Once he did make the move to Goodison, ‘Tosh’ - an…

Alan Grenyer – An Everton and North Shields Stalwart

03

Feb

By Rob Sawyer

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1910-1919, Articles, Latest, Players, Rob Sawyer

Alan Grenyer – An Everton and North Shields Stalwart

Rob Sawyer Alan Grenyer 1919-20 For understandable reasons, Everton’s 1914/15 season team had less coverage and kudos than the other six to achieve the impressive feat of winning the Football League Championship. The season was played with the backdrop of the First World War, which had got underway in July 1914. Perhaps believing that the conflict would be over by Christmas, the regular Football League and FA Cup competitions went ahead. This was in the face of dissent from much of the population at large, who felt that young and fit men should be joining the armed forces, rather than…

From Barry to the Blues – The Keith Webber Story

06

Jan

By Rob Sawyer

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1950-1959, 1960-1969, Articles, Latest, Rob Sawyer, Uncategorized

From Barry to the Blues – The Keith Webber Story

Rob Sawyer A young Keith Webber before joining Everton Born in Cardiff on 5 January 1943, Keith Webber grew up idolising his footballing countrymen Trevor Ford and John Charles. A gifted scholar with a talent for numbers, his parents hoped that he would attend university and, perhaps, go into accountancy. However, Keith’s passion for sport was matched by his all-round ability. The Glamorganshire schoolboy long-jump record holder and the Cardiff Schools 220-yard sprint champion also played rugby at wing three-quarter for his school. He would also turn out (under an assumed name) as an amateur footballer for Barry Town, alongside…

The Women’s Derby Match: Rob Sawyer and Sarah Deboe on Radio Merseyside

15

Nov

By Rob Sawyer

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2020-2029, Everton Women, Rob Sawyer, Sarah Deboe

The Women’s Derby Match: Rob Sawyer and Sarah Deboe on Radio Merseyside

Rob Sawyer and Sarah Deboe on Radio Merseyside On Friday 15 November 2024, EFCHS members Rob and Sarah appeared on Radio Merseyside to chat with Kev Duala regarding Goodison Park’s links to women’s football, as the women's derby match was fast approaching. Click image for BBC Sounds iPlayer (item is at 1 hr 20min) More articles on our Everton Women Heritage Page In addition to the EFCHS webpage above, our society member Bradley Cates (a.k.a. EFCStatto) also has a dedicated webpage . I