1878-1889 – Page 5 – Everton FC Heritage Society

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Feb

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Players, Tony OnslowBethell Robinson, Bolton Wanderers, Bootle, Everton, Newton Heath, Preston North End, Southport Central

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…

29

Jan

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Players, Tony Onslow

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,…

28

Jan

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, History, Members Work, Players, Tony OnslowEverton, Sunderland Albion

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…

25

Jan

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, History, Members Work, Tony OnslowAnfield, First game at Anfield, Thomas Whittle, Tony Onslow, Walter Richards, William Gibson

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…

25

Jan

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Players, Tony OnslowDarwen, Preston North End, Walter Smalley

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…

27

Nov

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Tony Onslow

Only Once a Blue (Part 3): Godfrey William Turner

Godfrey Turner, who was almost certainly the first southerner to play for Everton Football Club, came from an eminent family background. His father, Charles, was a prominent floriculturist in Victorian England and was the lessee of the Royal Nurseries at Slough, where he employed around 100 people. He had formerly held the licence of a flower nursery at nearby Chelvey with his wife, Susannah. Godfrey, their sixth child, was born there on 26 July 1854. Godfrey was educated at Crawford School and Twickenham College, after which his movements are something of a mystery. Official FA records place him acting as umpire at…

27

Nov

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Players, Tony Onslow

Only Once a Blue (Part 6): Joe Marsden

Joe Marsden joined Everton from Darwen, where he was born on 11 October 1869. By 1881, he was still living with his parents, Thomas and Nancy, at 6 Sydney Street, but now employed as a half-time weaver, in the cotton industry. Marsden had fond childhood memories concerning the FA Cup exploits of his local team, and would have been proud when he joined them on their home at Barley Bank Meadow. His Darwen side began the 1886-87 campaign a with stunning 7-1 win over Heart of Midlothian, which was followed by victories over Bolton Wanderers and Chirk. Their hopes of…

16

Nov

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Tony Onslow

John Arthur Eyton-Jones

There was a larger than usual crowd of journalists filling the Anfield Press Stand when the Everton players took to field on 7 January 1888 to play Notts Rangers. They were there to record what side the club executive would place on the field following the one-month suspension incurred for paying players they had imported from north of the border. The Scots had now departed so they were obliged to fill the vacant positions with local amateur players who were eligible for selection. One of them, John Arthur Eyton-Jones, had been born in1863 at Wrexham in North Wales. The…

16

Nov

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Tony Onslow

Thomas Horn Fayer

Unlike many of the early Everton football players who met on Stanley Park, Thomas Fayer did not come from the newly-established Anglican community around the Breckfield Road area, but from an Anglo-Irish neighbourhood in another part of Everton. His father, William, had been born in Preston where he had met and married Newry-born Anna Horn before moving to settle at 151 Great Homer Street in Liverpool. Their first child, Thomas, was born here on 11 January 1866 and baptised at the church of St Anthony. The family later moved to Rokerby Street where two additions to the family were baptised…

09

Nov

By Tony Onslow

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1878-1889, Articles, History, Members Work, Players, Tony Onslow

Only Once a Blue (Part 5): Henry Parkinson

When Harry Parkinson arrived at the Thornyholme Ground, he had intended to watch a Football League match but instead found himself taking part. Born on 9 December 1866 in Oswaldtwistle, he spent the early years of his life with his mother Catherine at the Star Inn where his grandfather was landlord. At the time of the 1881 census, Catherine had taken over as landlady, while her son had started to work as a weaver in the cotton industry. Being brought up in a beer drinking environment may have been the reason why Harry developed an aversion to alcohol, for he…