History

The History of Bramley-Moore Dock

The History of Bramley-Moore Dock

  Evertonians are justly proud of their heritage, and as it has been with Goodison, so it will be with Bramley-Moore Dock.  As it celebrates its 170th anniversary this year, what are the origins of the site of Everton’s proposed new stadium? The dock takes its name from John Bramley-Moore (pictured), who was born in Leeds in 1800.  As a young man he went out to South America, spending several years as a merchant in Rio de Janeiro.  By 1830 he was clearly upwardly mobile, marrying Seraphina Hibernia, the daughter of William Pennell, British consul-general for Brazil.  In 1835, Bramley-Moore…
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The First Ever Derby Match

The First Ever Derby Match

  After the historic split of 1892, the city had to wait until 13 October 1894 before the first meeting of the two clubs – the first ever Merseyside Derby.  Attendances at Goodison had averaged 30,000 by then, but this eagerly anticipated fixture attracted an estimated 44,000 fans. Local pundits viewed Liverpool’s rise as remarkable.  In their first year they won the Lancashire League Championship, on the strength of which they were admitted to the Second Division of the Football League. They again took the honours as champions, and after a victory in a test match against Newton Heath (whatever…
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Hugh Goldie, a tough tackling half back from Ayrshire

The First World War had been raging for over a year when the funeral cortege of 17-year-old Robert Goldie brought the small Ayrshire town of Hurlford to a halt. Born in Liverpool, he was the son of well-known local man who had once played football for Everton. Hugh Goldie, Robert's father, was born 10 February 1874 at 32 The Vennal in the Ayrshire town of Dalry where his own father, Hugh, worked as a coal miner, while his mother, Janet, had worked in a textile mill. The family later moved to the Riccarton area of Kilmarnock where Hugh, after completing…
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Frank Sugg – A Great Sporting All-Rounder

Frank Sugg – A Great Sporting All-Rounder

As a child, a shopping trip to nearby Stockport was not complete without a visit to the Sugg Sport emporium in the Merseyway Shopping Centre. Back then I was blissfully unaware of the link between the family giving its name to the Yorkshire-based retail chain and Everton FC. Frank Howe Sugg, like Jack Sharp and Harry Makepeace, was a notable footballer-cum-cricketer on Everton’s books. Born in Ilkeston, in 1862, Frank was raised in Pitsmoor, Sheffield from the age of four, along with his elder brother, Walter. The boys’ parents had designs on them following their father, Hubert, into the legal…
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“Bunny” – The Robert Bell Story

“Bunny” – The Robert Bell Story

The Wirral has a proud tradition of producing high-calibre footballers who have graced stadia on Merseyside and beyond. For a period in the first half of the 20th century Tranmere Rovers became something of a centre-forward factory, producing some of the finest striking talent in the land. There was, of course, William Ralph “Dixie” Dean, but also Tom “Pongo” Waring, Bill “Nibbler” Ridding and Robert “Bunny” Bell (it appears that nicknames were mandatory in this era). The latter wrote himself into the record books by scoring a triple-hat-trick on Boxing Day 1935. More of which later… Bob, as he preferred…
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Elie Hurel – The First Jerseyman to Play in the First Division

Elie Hurel – The First Jerseyman to Play in the First Division

Elie Hurel holds a special place in the footballing folklore of the Channel Islands. Decades before Graeme Le Saux and Matt Le Tissier became household names; Elie was the first man from those Crown dependencies to play football in the English top flight. His journey there — from being orphaned as a child to lining up alongside the legendary Bill “Dixie” Dean at Goodison Park — is a remarkable one. Elie, the fifth of twelve children born to Emile Andre and Marie-Francoise Hurel, took his first breath on April 10 1915. As their names suggest, Emile and Marie-Francoise were French…
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British Home Internationals 1973

British Home Internationals 1973

The British Home International competition had been a feature of the football calendar since 1883-84 season. This consisted of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 1973 because of the civil unrest from the Northern Ireland conflict, Northern Ireland were ordered to play what would be their 'home' games at Goodison Park, the home of Everton. On the 12 May 1973 Northern Ireland faced England with the 'visitors' claiming a 2-1 victory. Former Everton player Tommy Jackson starred in the Irish line up that day. Tottenham’s Martin Chivers gave England the lead, then a penalty from Dave Clements, who would…
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John Crelley, an FA Cup Winner with Everton

When Everton reached the FA Cup Final in 1906 their opponents, Newcastle United, had previously done a 'league double' over them and were favourites to lift the trophy. The Merseyside club had reached this stage of the competition twice before and had been beaten on both occasions. This time, however, it was to be 'third time lucky' as the trophy found its way to Goodison Park. Playing for Everton that day at left-back was a man who, in many ways, epitomised the type of individual who shaped the development of Victorian Liverpool. His name was John Crelley and he was…
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Stevenson of Kilmarnock

Stevenson of Kilmarnock

The Final Journey of an Everton Blue Signed during the pre-Football League era, Robert Stevenson returned eventually to live in his native Scotland but spent the last days of his life in Liverpool. He was born January 1861, at 34 Ardeer Square in the Ayrshire coastal town of Stevenson and was the seventh child of George, a coal miner, and his wife Margaret. The 1881 census found the family living in Kilmarnock at 52 Low Glencairn Street. Robert was employed as a grocery assistant. It is around this time that he began serving an apprenticeship as an engine fitter and…
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Jack Brearley, a Prisoner at Ruhleben

Jack Brearley, a Prisoner at Ruhleben. Located beneath the dark smoking chimneys of the gigantic Spandau Munitions Factory on the outskirts of Berlin, the harnessed horse racing track at Ruhleben was hurriedly turned in to an internment camp for the 5,000 or so British civilians who found themselves trapped inside Germany due to the outbreak of World War 1. The game of association football was still in its infant stages, and several of the men held captive, former professional football players, had answered an advertisement to come as trainers and help improve the standard of the game on mainland Europe.…
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