1950-1959

George ‘Bumper’ Clarkson: An Original Original

George ‘Bumper’ Clarkson: An Original Original

Everton superfan, shareholder, unofficial official and arguably Everton's oldest ever player and goalscorer! Our story begins with a curious little column, part of a series written by the esteemed Liverpool Echo sportswriter Ernest ‘Bee’ Edwards and published on page six of the newspaper, on Saturday, 20 October 1934. The text is accompanied by cartoonist Allason Moscrop’s detailed caricature of Clarkson, resplendent in coat and hat with signature chrysanthemum on his lapel. It reads as follows: Caricature of George Clarkson from Ernest Edwards’ nostalgic series ‘The Salt of the Soccer Crowd’ - Liverpool Echo, 20 October 1934 ‘Here’s one of the…
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Cliff Britton – A Life in Football

Cliff Britton – A Life in Football

Rob Sawyer Part 1 – The Player Cliff Britton was Everton’s first manager in the modern sense of the word, yet it is for his footballing feats at Goodison Park in the 1930s that he is most celebrated. His Everton playing career overlapped that of Harry Catterick, yet their experiences as managers and players at the School of Science contrasted sharply. Whilst Catterick’s modest playing career was a precursor to managerial triumphs. Britton’s, ultimately disappointing, tenure in the Goodison hot seat was at odds with a playing career which saw him hailed as one of the country’s finest half-backs.  Clifford…
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Jessie Milne: The First Lady of Goodison Park

Jessie Milne: The First Lady of Goodison Park

Reflections on a pioneering woman's half century of service at Everton Football Club Jamie Yates With women’s football firmly back on the map and growing once more in popularity, much has rightly been made in recent times of the abrupt ban placed in December 1921 on women playing the game at Football Association affiliated club stadia in England. Twelve months prior, on Boxing Day 1920, Goodison Park had hosted a record crowd for women's football of around 46,000 (with as many as 10,000 more locked out) for a match between St Helens Ladies and the famous Preston factory team Dick,…
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From Birkenhead to El Ballet Azul: The Billy Higgins Story

From Birkenhead to El Ballet Azul: The Billy Higgins Story

Rob Sawyer Billy Higgins with Everton in 1946 When Everton played the Millonarios club of Bogotá in Florida in the summer of 2021, it provided an intriguing link to the past. In 1950, the Columbian club was at the epicentre of a storm over footballers being lured from British clubs to a so-called ‘renegade league’.  In the immediate post-war era, footballers employed by English Football League clubs were on a maximum wage of £12 per week plus moderate bonuses and long service rewarded with periodic ‘benefit cheques’. Although well-paid, compared to the typical blue-collar worker, these sporting stars were far…
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Gwyn Lewis – Playing In The Shadow of the Cannonball Kid

Gwyn Lewis – Playing In The Shadow of the Cannonball Kid

Rob Sawyer Gwyn Lewis of Everton FC Born on 21 April 1932, Gwynfor (Gwyn) Lewis became one of Bangor’s finest footballing sons. Like fellow Bangor-born forward Nathan Broadhead, over six decades later, Gwyn would only get fleeting opportunities at Everton, but established himself as an accomplished goalscorer in lower league football. Gwyn was one of several young talented sportspeople attending Bangor’s Friars Grammar School in the 1940s. There at the same time was John Cowell, who would go on to play in goal for Pwllheli FC under TG Jones, Bangor City, Marine and Liverpool FC Reserves, as well as cricket…
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Frank (Carlo) Carlton  – From a Colt to a Saint

Frank (Carlo) Carlton  – From a Colt to a Saint

Richie Gillham A young Frank Carlton (courtesy of Joan Griffin, Ancestry.co.uk) Frank Carlton was born in Blackbrook, St Helens, in 1936, into a community where sport was at the heart of everyday life. Like many boys of his generation, his first taste of competition came on the school playing fields. At school, he quickly earned a reputation as a fleet-footed winger in the soccer team. He helped guide Blackbrook to the Windle Pilkington Shield final, one of the key competitions in local schoolboy football. When he moved on to Parr Central School, his athletic abilities flourished. In athletics he excelled…
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Ted Forshaw – From Everton Youth Prodigy to Cup Hero via the Oval Ball

Ted Forshaw – From Everton Youth Prodigy to Cup Hero via the Oval Ball

Richie Gillham Ted Forshaw may not be a name known to Everton fans, but his story is one of remarkable versatility, resilience, and dedication across multiple disciplines. From the football pitches of Everton to the rugby fields of St Helens, and later to the athletics tracks of Merseyside, Forshaw’s journey is a testament to the enduring spirit of a true sportsman. Born on 26 October 1931, Forshaw began his football journey with Everton FC, signing on 25 March 1957, after scouts had spotted him playing for Sutton Manor Colliery FC. He had also been a keen rugby league player before…
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Alec Farrall Remembered

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…
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Everton v Newcastle United – 8 April 1955

Everton v Newcastle United – 8 April 1955

by Mike Royden . https://youtu.be/rssPxIh3jCM The cine-film (enlarged view below) In this age of multimedia, with every archive film clip seemingly now available online, it is rare that an undiscovered gem becomes available. Yet, that is what has come into the hands of Everton FC Heritage Society. In the form of a 16mm cine-reel, it is the filmed record of the First Division match between Everton and Newcastle United, played at Goodison Park on 8 April 1955. It is also especially valuable because it documents at length (one hour of footage survives) a match from the 1950s - a rarity…
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From Barry to the Blues – The Keith Webber Story

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…
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