Articles

Eddie Thomas – An Unsung Goodison Hero
08
May
By Rob Sawyer
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1950-1959, Articles, History, Members Work, Rob Sawyer

Eddie Thomas – An Unsung Goodison Hero

Whilst researching and writing Blue Dragon, the forthcoming biography of Roy Vernon, my interest was piqued by Eddie Thomas, the makeweight in the deal that brought Vernon from Blackburn to Merseyside. The fact that Johnny Carey was prepared to sacrifice Thomas, in spite of a remarkable goal per game ratio, underlines just how highly the Everton manager coveted the Rovers man. Like Vernon, Eddie did not have the physique of a footballer. Slight – almost frail looking – he appeared ill-equipped for the hurly-burly of professional football. But appearances can so often be deceptive and the Lancastrian enjoyed a fruitful career over…
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Union Jack
08
May
By Rob Sawyer
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1890-1899, Articles, History, Members Work, Players, Rob Sawyer

Union Jack

Jack Bell I was in touch with The former Rugby Union star Tom Smith, some months ago when I discovered that sporting excellence runs in his family. His great-grandfather was John Bell (often referred to as Jack Bell) - one of the brightest Association Football stars of the 1890s, who left an indelible mark at Dumbarton, Everton, Celtic, Preston North End and on the Scottish national team. There was more to the teetotal, moustachioed Bell than his activities on the field of play. He was a pioneer of the unionisation movement in football - a stance which won him few…
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Jimmy Dunn and Sons
08
May
By Rob Sawyer
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1930-1939, Articles, History, Interview, Players, Rob Sawyer

Jimmy Dunn and Sons

Jimmy dunn attacks the Park End as Billy Dean watches on John Dunn in conversation with Rob Sawyer Stein, Dean and Dunn – that trio of names is immortalised in Goodison folklore as the Everton scorers in the 1933 FA Cup Final victory over Manchester City. William Ralph Dean needs no introduction but today’s Blues supporters may be less familiar with the two scoring Scots: Jimmy Stein and his compatriot, Jimmy Dunn. Stein, the Coatbridge-raised forward who arrived at Everton via Dunfermline Athletic, marauded down the left flank for eight years. But it is the diminutive Dunn - 5ft 5in…
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The Age of Illumination – The Story of Goodison Park under Floodlights
08
May
By Rob Sawyer
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1950-1959, Articles, History, Rob Sawyer

The Age of Illumination – The Story of Goodison Park under Floodlights

There is something truly magical about a football stadium under lights. The glow guides you from miles away. From within, there’s an enhanced - almost animated - quality to your view of proceedings. The artificial light glistens on the fabric of the players’ shirts and picks out the moisture on the freshly watered, bright green pitch. And, of course, the electricity seems to energise the crowd - adding a few extra decibels to the crowd’s roar.   It’s hard to imagine that, as recently as the 1950s, winter kick-off times had to be set so that matches would conclude before dusk,…
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A Day of Celebration and Commemoration at The Winslow
08
May
By Rob Sawyer
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2020-2029, Articles, Events

A Day of Celebration and Commemoration at The Winslow

Number 31 Goodison Road is an address with 134 years of rich history – 128 of them indelibly linked to the football club across the road. When The Winslow Hotel called first orders in 1886 there was a field opposite called Mere Green. In 1892 it became the new home of Everton FC. Over the decades countless Toffees supporters and no few players (in the days when many lived, literally, around the corner form Goodison Park) have passed through the doors.  On Saturday 14th March this year, the Everton FC Heritage Society teamed up with the current licensee, Dave Bond,…
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One Goal at a Time Bob Latchford
30
Apr
By Steve Zocek
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1970-1979, Articles, History, Interview, Members Work, Players, Steve Zocek

One Goal at a Time Bob Latchford

Recollections of Bob's 30 Goal record by his colleagues       On 29 April 1978, Everton recorded a memorable 6-0 victory over Chelsea in front of 39,500 people. Watching from the Main Stand that afternoon was the great Dixie Dean. Bob Latchford was adored by his fans, who were convinced that he walked on water and anxiously wanted the two goals required to achieve thirty goals for the season. The Daily Express had offered a generous prize of £10,000 for this milestone.I recently made contact with most of the players that played for Everton that day, to ask for their story of that great afternoon. Sadly, two of the team, Mick Buckley…
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The Andrew Watson Story
15
Apr
By Tony Onslow
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1878-1889, Articles, Members Work, Tony Onslow

The Andrew Watson Story

Now accepted as the world’s first black football player, Guyana-born Andrew Watson was to have a career that would bind him tightly to both Glasgow and Liverpool. He would also make a guest appearance in the colours of Everton. His father, Peter Miller Watson, was born 16 June 1805 in the Orkney Islands, and was the fourth son of James Watson, who acted as factor for a Scottish nobleman. His mother, née Christina Robertson, was Scottish and her family were sugar plantation owners in the colony of British Guyana. When Peter was just three years old his father died, and…
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The Allan Maxwell Story
14
Apr
By Tony Onslow
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1890-1899, Articles, History, Players, Tony Onslow

The Allan Maxwell Story

When Allan Maxwell decided to leave his native Scotland to play professional football, he had no idea that eventually he would be involved in one of the most peculiar transfers that ever happened in Victorian England. He was born on 2 April 1869 in the Lanarkshire town of Dalziel, now part of Motherwell, where his father worked as a coal miner. The 1871 census found the family had moved to 30 Sunnyside Rows in Cambuslang where young Allan was recorded as being two years old. By 1881 the Maxwell family had moved to 5 Windsor Street in the town of Hamilton where Allen attended school. Leaving school in his mid-teens, he joined his father working at the mine. It was around this…
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‘Hot Toddy’: Son of my Father (Part 8)
16
Mar
By Steve Zocek
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1990-1999, Articles, Interview, Members Work, Players, Steve Zocek, , , ,

‘Hot Toddy’: Son of my Father (Part 8)

Colin and Andy Todd An Interview with Steve Zocek Signing on for Everton, Colin pictured with manager Gordon Lee Colin Todd made his Everton bow at the age of thirty. It’s only fair to say that his best days were behind him when he arrived at Goodison. Colin’s stay on Merseyside was a brief thirty-two games, scoring one goal in a 3-1 away victory, against what would be his next club, Birmingham City. Playing 661 career games in the Football League, and winning twenty seven England caps, tells its own story of Colin. Andy Todd was the son of Colin,…
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