Rob Sawyer

Alan Grenyer – An Everton and North Shields Stalwart

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…
Read More
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…
Read More
Forgotten Champions 1986/87: Everton’s Last Title

Forgotten Champions 1986/87: Everton’s Last Title

Paul McParlan – in Conversation with Rob Sawyer The Forgotten Champions is an enthralling account of how Everton overcame a devastating catalogue of injuries and the sale of their star striker to reclaim the league title from Liverpool in 1987. Manager Howard Kendall used all his tactical acumen to produce a side that was far greater than the sum of its parts, to bring the title back to Goodison.  Paul McParlan, of Everton FC Heritage Society, is a member of the Football Writers' Association and a senior writer for These Football Times. His articles have appeared on The Athletic website…
Read More
‘Everton Village and the Birth of Everton Football Club’  

‘Everton Village and the Birth of Everton Football Club’  

Presented by Rob Sawyer in conversation with Ken Rogers. An EFCHS original film Everton FC Heritage Society have made a new film about the role and effect of Everton Village in the history of Everton Football Club, featuring the Queen's Head pub, the two toffee shops, and, of course, the lock-up which adorns our club crest. Only the lock-up still remains in situ, but the sites are all within just a few yards of each other. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw1kHgjMH_w&ab_channel=EvertonFCHeritageSociety Well-known Everton FC author and member of EFCHS, Rob Sawyer, met up with former Sports Editor of the Liverpool Echo, Ken Rogers (Chairman…
Read More
Everton – The Baseball Years

Everton – The Baseball Years

Richie Gillham and Rob Sawyer Baseball may be a minority sport in the UK, but 80 years ago Merseyside was a hotbed of this popular American pastime. Had it not been for the outbreak of War in 1939, perhaps it would have gained a proper foothold in our sporting life. Folklore has it that William Ralph ‘Dixie’ Dean was once introduced to the legendary Babe Ruth (of Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fame) at a football match. Dean recalled to journalist John Roberts his encounter with Babe. The American introduced himself in typical style by booming: "You’re that…
Read More
The Women’s Derby Match: Rob Sawyer and Sarah Deboe on Radio Merseyside

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
Read More
The Toffees in Tenerife in 1934

The Toffees in Tenerife in 1934

Rob Sawyer Post-season Everton tours beyond these shores were becoming firmly established in the early 1930s. Previously, there had been trips to Austria-Hungary (1905), South America (1909), Barcelona (1924), and Switzerland (1928). The spring of 1932 had seen the newly-crowned Football League champions play six matches in Germany; a year later, as FA Cup holders, the Toffees toured Denmark. Tours in that era earned clubs some funds but, in contrast to what we witness today, there not untold riches on offer, or thoughts of raising global brand awareness. The Everton squad 1933-34 season Early in 1934, key figures on Tenerife…
Read More
Broken Dreams: Everton, The War and Goodison’s Lost Generation

Broken Dreams: Everton, The War and Goodison’s Lost Generation

Rob Sawyer - in Conversation with Paul McParlan In the late summer of 1939, Everton Football Club had the world at their feet. After a 1938/39 season that saw them claim the League Championship title, they seemed poised to become an enduring dynasty in English football. With young stars like Tommy Lawton, a veteran goalkeeper in Ted Sagar, and emerging talents like Joe Mercer and TG Jones, Everton was a squad bursting with potential. But the invasion of Poland by Germany, just eight days into the 1939/40 season, suspended the dreams and ambitions of a team that looked set to…
Read More
St Luke’s – the church with its own football ground

St Luke’s – the church with its own football ground

St Luke’s – the church with its own football ground by Mike Royden https://youtu.be/MsIW2vqWcHM Although Everton F.C. started life as the St Domingo’s church team in 1878, it is now closely associated with another place of worship. St. Luke the Evangelist, nestled between the Main Stand and the Howard Kendall Gwladys Street Stand, contributes to the uniqueness of Goodison Park. As well a providing an evangelical presence for the local community for well over a century, the associated church hall also provides a facility for local organisations, not least as a match day venue for the Everton FC Heritage Society.…
Read More
Colin Green: The Brymbo Boy and Everton full-back – in conversation with Rob Sawyer

Colin Green: The Brymbo Boy and Everton full-back – in conversation with Rob Sawyer

In 2024, Rob Sawyer of EFCHS met with former Welsh international Colin Green in his Wrexham home. Signed by Everton as a schoolboy in 1957, Colin made his first team debut in September 1960, going on to play eighteen times for the Blues, before making 183 appearances for Birmingham. Now eighty-two years old, a fascinating time was spent in the company of Colin, learning about his life in football, most especially his time at Everton between 1957 and 1962. https://youtu.be/0ues-4XqkcE ............................................................................. Gallery Everton FC squad 1959/60 pictured on the Park End/Bullens Road training ground. Colin Green in on the back…
Read More