Everton FC Heritage Society is proud to be associated with the official Everton matchday programme, and for the last few seasons we have been allocated our own page in each issue. Where possible we try to produce an article with historical links to the fixture and opposition of the day, hoping to give topical interest to both sets of fans.
We appreciate that some of the articles leave you wanting to know more, but we are limited to around 450 words, as the programme must cover a variety of functions of course, and there just isn’t room.
Nevertheless, many of the articles are an abridged version of a longer study, often with more illustrations, so it is worth using the Search bar in the right-side panel, or the author’s name, which you will find below Search under Categories, to see if it has been uploaded.
List of Programme Articles
(most recent first)
[Click on opponent to download the article]
Season 2023/24
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 11/5 | Sheffield United | Rob Sawyer | Jack Dodds |
| 27/4 | Brentford | Mike Royden | |
| 24/4 | Liverpool | Kieran Smith | Tom Wyllie, a Scot who played for both Everton & Liverpool 1890-93 |
| 21/4 | Nottingham Forest | Paul McParlan | |
| 6/4 | Burnley | Richie Gillham | Peter Douglas and the Denny Dougalls |
| 2/3 | West Ham United | Richie Gillham | Joe Blythe / Charlie Crossley |
| 19/2 | Crystal Palace | Paul McParlan | Lethal Latchford the Record Breaker – Everton v Crystal Palace, 20 September 1980 |
| 3/2 | Tottenham Hotspur | Richie Gillham | Onwards and Upwards: New kids on the Block |
| 27/1 | Luton Town (FA Cup 4th) | Gavin Buckland | The First Sunday Fixture |
| 17/1 | Crystal Palace (FAC 3rd rep) | Rob Sawyer | Three Replays and an Expulsion: Everton’s Explosive Introduction to the FA Cup |
| 13/1 | Aston Villa | Mike Royden | Leap Year Madness: Everton v Aston Villa 28 February 1964 |
| 26/12 | Manchester City | Rob Sawyer | James Meunier |
| 19/12 | Fulham (Carabao Cup 5th) | Rob Sawyer | George Robey All-Stars |
| 9/12 | Chelsea | Richie Gillham | Jack Whitley |
| 5/12 | Newcastle United | Rob Sawyer | Alan Grenyer |
| 25/11 | Manchester United | Mike Royden | Remembrance |
| 4/11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Richie Gillham | Dickie Downs |
| 1/11 | Burnley (Carabao Cup 4th) | Dave Prentice | The 1975 rescheduled fixture (due to the Grand National) |
| 7/10 | Bournemouth | Rob Sawyer | Alf Harland: A Toffee and a Linnet |
| 30/9 | Luton | Paul McParlan | George Cummins |
| 16/9 | Arsenal | Rob Sawyer | Dixie Dean’s biography |
| 26/8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Paul McParlan | Mickey Lill |
| 12/8 | Fulham | Rob Sawyer | Wattie White |
| 5/8 | Sporting Lisbon | Bradley Cates | Everton FC vs Portuguese opposition |
Season 2022/23
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 28/5 | Bournemouth | Rob Sawyer | George Kitchen – the Penalty Taking Goalkeeper |
| 13/5 | Manchester City | Richie Gillham | Everton and Manchester City – Trialists, Triumphs and Tribulations |
| 25/4 | Newcastle United | Rob Sawyer | John Cuff – From Goodison Park to the Monte Carlo Rally! |
| 15/4 | Fulham | Rob Sawyer | Francis Hamill – The Goodison Bugler |
| 1/4 | Tottenham Hotspur | John Shearon | How Toffee’s Heavy Lunch Fed Football in Uruguay |
| 11/3 | Brentford | Rob Sawyer | Frank Oliver and his Debut Hat-trick |
| 25/2 | Aston Villa | Paul McParlan | Ken McNaught – from League Cup Runner-up to European Cup Winner |
| 18/2 | Leeds United | Steve Johnson | Players’ Chronological Numbers |
| 4/2 | Arsenal | Paul McParlan | Geoff Barnett |
| 14/1 | Southampton | Rob Sawyer | Goodison Avenue – Everton’s Celebrity Street |
| 2/1 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Rob Sawyer | Barry Rees;the Welshman of both Everton and Brighton |
| 26/12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Mike Royden | The Lothian Lasses & Boxing Day at Goodison 130 years ago |
| 5/11 | Leicester City | Tony Wainwright | Remembrance – The Fallen of Everton FC |
| 22/10 | Crystal Palace | Rob Sawyer | EFC tour to Australia in 1964 |
| 9/10 | Manchester United | Paul McParlan | Tommy Jackson |
| 17/9 | West Ham United | Ken Rogers | What’s in a Name? (Club names) |
| 3/9 | Liverpool | Richie Gillham | Les Shannon – A Foot in Both Camps |
| 20/8 | Nottingham Forest | Richie Gillham | 130th Anniversary of Goodison’s First Game |
| 6/8 | Chelsea | Dave Prentice | Catterick not sorry TV missed Husband’s bullet |
| 29/7 | Dynamo Kiev (Friendly) | Dave Prentice | Duo fire Kiev to Euro glory |
Season 2021/22
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 19/5 | Crystal Palace | Rob Sawyer | John Lindsay’s Unlucky Break |
| 15/5 | Brentford | Gavin Buckland | The Bees – Our first post-war visitors |
| 30/4 | Chelsea | Richie Gillham | Jacky Robertson – Chelsea’s First Boss |
| 9/4 | Manchester United | Richie Gillham | Neil McBain – The Teacher of Estudiantes |
| 12/3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Rob Sawyer | George Green |
| 3/3 | Boreham Wood (FA Cup 5) | Darren Griffiths | When non-league Alty drew at Goodison |
| 26/2 | Manchester City | David Prentice | Red and Black City |
| 12/2 | Leeds United | Richie Gillham | Valentine Harris |
| 5/2 | Brentford (FA Cup 4) | Paul McParlan | Everton v Brentford 1950/51 |
| 22/1 | Aston Villa | Mike Royden | EFCHS; new web site and social media |
| 1/1 | Brighton | Rob Sawyer | Keith Webber |
| 28/12 | Newcastle (postponed to 17 Mar) | Rob Sawyer | Tom Robson |
| 18/12 | Leicester (postponed to 20 Apr) | Darren Griffiths | How Eastoe Showed his Worth in Blue |
| 4/12 | Arsenal | Rob Sawyer | Tim Coleman – a rebel and an entertainer |
| 30/11 | Liverpool | Bradley Cates | Patrick Gordon |
| 6/11 | Tottenham Hotspur | Tony Wainwright | Remembrance |
| 6/11 | Tottenham Hotspur | Richie Gillham | Jack Kirwan |
| 23/10 | Watford | Paul McParlan | Andy Rankin |
| 17/10 | West Ham United | David Prentice | Hat-trick Kings |
| 25/9 | Norwich | Brendan Connolly | Bobby Irvine |
| 13/9 | Burnley | Kieran Smith | Free-scoring Bertie Freeman |
| 14/8 | Southampton | Steve Johnson | Season opener stats |
Season 2020/21
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 15/5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Steve Johnson | Most frequent Everton pairings |
| 11/5 | Sheffield United | Bradley Cates | Archie Clark |
| 1/5 | Aston Villa | Brendan Connolly | Bert Sharp – the lesser-known Sharp brother |
| 17/4 | Tottenham Hotspur | Brendan Connolly | John Cameron – A varied life in football |
| 3/4 | Crystal Palace | Richie Gillham | The 6-0 FA Cup scores in 1922 and 1931 |
| 20/3 | Manchester City (FAC 6) | David Prentice | Citeh FA Cup QF Classic 1981 |
| 13/3 | Burnley FC | Jamie Yates & Paul Owens | ‘Happy’ Jack Hillman (ex EFC and BFC goalie) |
| 1/3 | Southampton | Darren Griffiths | Jimmy Gabriel’s return ruined |
| 17/2 | Manchester City | James Corbett | Howard Kendall’s Mancunian Love Affair |
| 14/2 | Fulham | Peter Lupson | Church origins of EFC & FFC |
| 10/2 | Tottenham Hotspur (FAC 5) | Mike Royden | Everton/Spurs players meet again as WW1 PoWs |
| Tottenham Hotspur (FAC 5) | Rob Sawyer | Everton Young Guns | |
| 30/1 | Newcastle United | Rob Sawyer | Jimmy Fell; From the Mariners to the Mersey |
| 27/1 | Leicester City | Rob Sawyer | Tommy Eggelston – Harry Catterick’s trusted lieutenant |
| 24/1 | Sheffield Wednesday(FAC4) | Richie Gillham | Joe McClure |
| 9/1 | Rotherham Utd FC (FAC3) | Paul Owens | Bobby Mimms; From Rotherham to Everton |
| 1/1 | West Ham United | Gavin Buckland | Howard Kendall – last game v West Ham (FAC Jan 82) |
| 23/12 | Manchester Utd (EFL Cup QF) | Joe Brennan | 1963 Charity Shield – Everton show Utd no Charity |
| 19/12 | Arsenal | Rob Sawyer | Hope Robertson and the missing crossbar |
| 12/12 | Chelsea | David Prentice | Jack Cock (Everton & Chelsea |
| 28/11 | Leeds United | Richie Gillham | Billy Scott (Everton & Leeds) |
| 7/11 | Manchester United | Rob Sawyer | Harry Cook/Remembrance |
| 17/10 | Liverpool | Jamie Yates | Dickie Forshaw – ex LFC and EFC |
| 3/10 | Brighton & HA | Darren Griffiths | Everton v Brighton; First League Encounters |
| 30/9 | West Ham United (EFL Cup) | Dave Prentice | EFC in the Texaco Cup |
| 19/9 | West Bromwich Albion | Rob Sawyer | Jack Southworth |
| 16/9 | Salford City (EFL Cup 2) | Darren Griffiths | Maiden League Cup Campaign 1960/61 |
| 5/9 | Preston North End |
Season 2019/20
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 26/7 | Bournemouth | Brendan Connolly | Football caps in the Everton Collection |
| 16/7 | Aston Villa | Peter Lupson | William McGregor – Villa director, and EFC bid to join Football League |
| 9/7 | Southampton | Mike Royden | First meeting with the Saints |
| 1/7 | Leicester City | Gavin Buckland | Lineker joins the Blues |
| 21/6 | Liverpool | Mike Royden | 80th anniversary of the first wartime season with eight derbies |
| 1/3 | Manchester United | Rob Sawyer | Jason Scott Lee |
| Manchester United | Ken Rogers & Rob Sawyer | Special feature: 40th Anniversary of passing of Dixie Dean | |
| 8/2 | Crystal Palace | Tony Wainwright | Crystal Palace – 1969/70 season meetings |
| 21/1 | Newcastle United | Ken Rogers | Barcelona Cup |
| 11/1 | Brighton & HA | Rob Sawyer | Jefferis breaks the deadlock |
| 26/12 | Burnley | Rob Sawyer | Jack Taylor |
| 21/12 | Arsenal | Darren Griffiths | Woolwich Arsenal and the 1904/5 championship |
| 18/12 | Leicester City (LC) | Richie Gillham | Reginald Boyne of Leicester Fosse and Everton Auckland, NZ |
| 7/12 | Chelsea | Darren Griffiths | Most bookings in a game – v. Chelsea 1974 |
| 23/11 | Norwich City | Rob Sawyer | Harry Catterick centenary |
| 3/11 | Tottenham Hotspur | Mike Royden | Remembrance: The Fallen of Everton FC |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Mike Royden | Extended pages based on the EFCHS Remembrance booklet | |
| 29/10 | Watford (LC 4) | Rob Sawyer | Everton’s Age of Illumination |
| 19/10 | West Ham United | Rob Sawyer | Bullens Road Stand opens v WHU in 1926 |
| 29/9 | Manchester City | Ken Rogers | Sponsorship back to the 19th Century |
| 21/9 | Sheffield United | Richie Gillham | Early floodlighting 1890 |
| 1/9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Ken Rogers | Everton Collection: programmes v Wolves |
| 17/8 | Watford | Rob Sawyer | Everton Collection and Watford references |
Season 2018/19
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 3/5 | Burnley | Darren Griffiths | Keith Newton |
| 21/4 | Manchester United | Rob Sawyer | Ted Sagar |
| 7/4 | Arsenal | Rob Sawyer | Tommy E. Jones – a Gentleman on and off the Pitch |
| 17/3 | Chelsea | Brendan Connolly | Everton and Chelsea Go Dutch |
| 3/3 | Liverpool | Rob Sawyer | Harold Uren – Crossing the Park |
| 6/2 | Manchester City | Rob Sawyer | Jock Thompson – Leader of Men |
| 2/2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Darren Griffiths | Blues Crowded out of a First Cup Win |
| 13/1 | Bournmouth | Rob Sawyer | Tommy Eglington – the Flying Winger of the Fifties |
| 5/1 | Lincoln (FA Cup 3) | Rob Sawyer | Imps can’t stop Blues promotion dream (1953-54) |
| 1/1 | Leicester City | ||
| 23/12 | Tottenham Hotspur | Tony Onslow | John Cameron- Spurs and Everton |
| 10/12 | Watford | Rob Sawyer | Ron Saunders – a Toffee and a Hornet |
| 5/12 | Newcastle | Richie Gillham | When Newcastle Won the Cup at Goodison |
| 24/11 | Cardiff | James Corbett | Brian Harris |
| 3/11 | Brighton & HA | Tony Wainwright | The Fallen of Everton FC |
| 21/10 | Crystal Palace | Darren Griffiths | The Day We Met at Wembley |
| 2/10 | Southampton (LC 3) | Richie Gillham | Peter Meechan |
| 29/9 | Fulham | Rob Sawyer | George Milligan |
| 16/9 | West Ham United | Steve Johnson | Everton Number Ones – by Numbers |
| 1/9 | Huddersfield Town | Rob Sawyer | EFC v Terriers 1920 |
| 21/8 | Rotherham (LC 2) | Darren Griffiths | Rotherham’s Bit of History |
| 18/8 | Southampton | Darren Griffiths | When the Blues followed The Beatles |
Season 2017/18
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 5/5 | Southampton | Kjell Hanssen | Dixie Brings the Cup Home! |
| 23/4 | Newcastle United | Mike Royden | EFCHS Dixie Dean evening – and his 1928 medal |
| 7/4 | Liverpool | Mike Royden | The first ever derby match |
| 31/3 | Manchester City | Rob Sawyer | Gentleman Joe (Joe Mercer) |
| 10/3 | Brighton & HA | Ken Rogers | The Vision of an Everton Future |
| 10/2 | Crystal Palace | Gavin Buckland | Winter Cup Blues |
| 31/1 | Leicester City | Mike Royden | Goodison Under Attack – the Blitz of September 1940 |
| 20/1 | West Bromwich Albion | Mike Royden | The History of Bramley-Moore Dock |
| 1/1 | Manchester United | Rob Sawyer | Harold Hardman |
| 23/12 | Chelsea | Rob Sawyer | Double Helpings of Festive Football (Dec 1957) |
| 18/12 | Swansea City | Rob Sawyer | Warney Cresswell – the Prince of Full-Backs |
| 2/12 | Huddersfield Town | Gavin Buckland | After the Ball… |
| 29/11 | West Ham United | Rob Sawyer | Frank Sugg – a Sporting All-Rounder |
| 23/11 | Atalanta (Europa L) | Peter Jones | Gridiron at Goodison -(and maybe Humphrey Bogart) |
| 5/11 | Watford | Peter Jones | The Fallen of 1917 |
| 22/10 | Arsenal | Rob Sawyer | Vernon’s Crowning Glory (May 1963) |
| 19/10 | Lyon (Europa L) | John Shearon | South American Visitors to Goodison Park |
| 1/10 | Burnley | James Corbett | Britton’s Blues |
| 28/9 | Apollon Limassol (Europa L) | Rob Sawyer | The ‘Mauretania’ Stand |
| 23/9 | Bournemouth | Billy Smith | The New Home of The Everton Club |
| 20/9 | Sunderland (LC 3) | No featured article in this edition | |
| 9/9 | Tottenham Hotspur | Brendan Connolly | The King’s Visit to Goodison Park 1938 |
| 17/8 | Hajduk Split (Europa L) | Rob Sawyer | St Luke’s – the church with its own football stadium! |
| 12/8 | Stoke City | David Prentice | SuperMac Drives Potters Potty (Duncan McKenzie) |
| 27/7 | Ruzomberok (Europa L) | James Corbett | Everton’s Previous Homes |
Season 2016/17
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 12/5 | Watford | John Shearon | Spreading the Everton Name |
| 30/4 | Chelsea | Steve Johnson | Clocking On |
| 15/4 | Burnley | Tony Onslow | Welcoming Old Friends |
| 9/4 | Leicester | Ken Rogers | Leicester’s Favourite Blue |
| 18/3 | Hull | David Prentice | When Parker Tamed Tigers [John Willie Parker] |
| 11/3 | West Bromwich Albion | Brendan Connolly | Sponsorship deals in the early 1900s; ‘Everton by Postcard’ |
| 25/2 | Sunderland | James Corbett | The Influence of Tom… [McIntosh] |
| 4/2 | Bournemouth | Gavin Buckland | Quick Off The Mark |
| 15/1 | Manchester City | David Prentice | Phew! 9-1 is a scorcher! |
| 7/1 | Leicester (FA Cup 3) | Darren Griffiths | From Leicester Fosse to Leicester City… |
| 2/1 | Southampton | Rob Sawyer | T.G. Jones And The Boys Of ‘39 |
| 19/12 | Liverpool | Rob Sawyer | Merseyside Derby – What’s in a Name |
| 13/12 | Arsenal | Tony Onslow | Jimmy Ashcroft – Liverpool Gunner |
| 4/12 | Manchester United | Tony Onslow | Origins – Everton and Newton Heath |
| 4/12 | Swansea | Peter Jones | EFCHS / Everton FC Remembrance Service |
| 30/10 | West Ham United | Peter Jones | Everton in 1916 – Remembrance |
| 30/9 | Crystal Palace | – | No featured article in this edition |
| 20/9 | Norwich (LC 3) | ||
| 17/9 | Middlesbrough | – | No featured article in this edition |
| 27/8 | Stoke | – | No featured article in this edition |
| 23/8 | Yeovil (LC 2) | ||
| 13/8 | Tottenham | Alan Ball Day – EFCHS Exhibition |
Season 2015/16
| Date | Fixture | Author | Theme |
| 15/5 | Norwich | Peter Jones | Why are Everton Called Everton? |
| 30/4 | Bournemouth | Peter Jones | Who was Prince Rupert and why did he have a tower? |
| 16/4 | Southampton | ||
| 19/3 | Arsenal | Rob Sawyer | Tommy Lawton – Goalscoring Great |
| 12/3 | Chelsea (FA Cup QF) | George Orr | In the Hunt for the Double |
| 5/3 | West Ham | ||
| 13/2 | West Bromwich Albion | Rob Sawyer | Archibald Leitch – The Man Who Shaped Goodison Park |
| 3/2 | Newcastle | Peter Jones | Why Naisy Wore Yellow and Pink! |
| 23/1 | Swansea City | Brendan Connolly | Pre season and end of season tours |
| 9/1 | Dagenham & Redbridge | ||
| 6/1 | Manchester City | Peter Jones | Name that Tune |
| 3/1 | Spurs | Peter Lupson | Sandy Young and his subsequent link with Spurs |
| 28/12 | Stoke City | – | No featured article in this edition |
| 19/12 | Leicester City | Pete Jones | George Harrison |
| 7/12 | Crystal Palace | Pete Jones | Why the Name Crystal Palace? |
| 21/11 | Aston Villa | Peter Lupson | William McGregor and EFC’s admission to the Football League |
| 1/11 | Sunderland | Peter Jones | Everton in 1915 – Remembrance |
| 27/10 | Norwich (LC4) | – | No featured article in this edition |
| 17/10 | Manchester United | – | No featured article in this edition |
| 4/10 | Liverpool | Peter Lupson | Everton and Liverpool – Band of Brothers |
| 12/9 | Chelsea | Darren Griffiths | George Farmer (1885) and his descendants at Goodison |
| 23/8 | Manchester City | Richie Gillham | Heritage Society Backs Kit-Aid |
| 8/8 | Watford | Paul Wharton | An Introduction to Everton FC Heritage Society |