The Great Goalpost Desecrating Craze of the 1960s

Jamie Yates

For anyone who grew up with the 1988 BBC Official History narrated by John Motson as part of their Evertonian education, one of the most exhilarating montages is made up of footage from the 1962/63 season, early on in Harry Catterick’s glorious reign as manager.

One particularly notable sequence is the footage from Saturday 22 September 1962, the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park. 

72,488 supporters crammed themselves into Goodison Park in fine voice for the first League clash between the two sides since 1951. Everton skipper Roy Vernon, who had already had a goal disallowed, put his side 1-0 up after 29 minutes with a trademark unstoppable penalty after a handball in the Liverpool box, only for Reds’ winger Kevin Lewis, playing up front in place of the injured Ian St. John, to level the score after 35 minutes. 

In the second half, making only his fifth appearance for Everton, Johnny Morrissey – whose £10,000 signing from Liverpool a matter of weeks earlier had prompted Bill Shankly to submit his (unaccepted) resignation – put the home side 2-1 up after 62 minutes with his first goal for the club, drilling the ball home before a delirious Gwladys Street stand, only for Roger Hunt to equalise in the dying seconds. 

Frustrating though that late equaliser must have been, Alan Weeks’ commentary and the crowd scenes captured by the television cameras following Morrissey’s goal are something to behold:

‘Vernon with the shot… Comes out… Furnell has dropped it! Comes out to Morrissey! Morrissey shoots! It’s in the net! It’s in the net! Morrissey has scored! 17 minutes of play in the second half and Johnny Morrissey, the boy who was transferred from Liverpool to Everton a month ago, puts Everton in the lead by two goals to one, and I just cannot hear myself talking!’

Any lingering doubts Evertonians might have had about their new number 11’s royal blue credentials after his move from Anfield must have been dismissed completely when they read his post-match comments in the Liverpool Daily Post on 24 September:

‘The ball seemed to take ages to get over the line but when it did I could have jumped over the stands with delight. It was my first goal for Everton and I’d been saving it for just this game.’

Watch the footage on YouTube. You might notice how radiant the Goodison Park goalposts appear against the swell of supporters behind them in the grainy, black and white footage. 

There is a reason why.

EARLIER THAT DAY

The Liverpool Echo on the morning of the match carried the following newsflash:

“RED” RAID ON GOODISON GOALS

Woodwork Painted

Liverpool supporters struck the first blow in the “derby” battle during the night. When the Everton ground staff arrived at Goodison Park this morning they found the two sets of goalposts had been completely covered with bright red paint.

Four men were immediately put to work scraping off the thick oil paint and rubbing down the posts with paint remover in a battle to restore them to their pristine condition. Said one of them: “There’s no doubt who’s responsible for this lot. They must have climbed into the ground about midnight last night. When we got here this morning the paint was completely dry.”

Two 16-year-old Everton supporters were first in the queue at Goodison Park this morning. Roy Wright, of 64 St. Anne Street, Liverpool, and Donald Walsh, of 12 Menai Road, Bootle, arrived at the Gwladys Street turnstiles at 9am – hours before they were due to open. They certainly had nothing to do with painting the goalposts: “Red is one colour we wouldn’t even touch,” said Roy. 

And the forecast of two Evertonians? “A 5-2 win for the Blues of course.”’

The optimism of those two teenage Toffees was not entirely misplaced. Everton went into the match in second place in the First Division table, whilst Bill Shankly’s newly promoted Liverpool side were consolidating in mid-table. The Toffees, now marching out in most home games of that 1962/63 season to their newly adopted ‘Z-Cars’ theme, remained unbeaten at home in the League throughout the season and won the Championship in style, clinching the title with a 4-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on 7 May. Bill Shankly’s Liverpool finished in eighth position with the return clash at Anfield in April finishing 0-0.

Bizarrely – and frustratingly for Everton Head Groundsman Alan Storey and his staff – this was not the first time in recent years that the Goodison Park goalposts had received an unwanted makeover. 

The Liverpool Echo of 18 February 1961 reported the following:

Everton Goalposts Painted Black

Liverpool University students celebrating their annual Panto Day entered Everton’s ground at Goodison Park during the early hours of this morning and painted the goalposts black. Police were told shortly after 4am and went to the ground, as there was a suggestion that some damage might be caused to the pitch.

The pitch was not touched. The groundsman was called out and spent some hours this morning cleaning off the goalposts so that they would be the regulation white in time for today’s match with Chelsea to start. 

Mr. Bill Dickinson, the Everton secretary, said: “No one minds some harmless fun with these students on their Panto Day, but this was sheer stupidity. There may well be some repercussions.”

In September 1965, the Liverpool Echo reported that Liverpool F.C. officials had employed a Securicor patrolman and guard dog to patrol Anfield overnight prior to the 1965/66 Merseyside Derby, having received warnings that Evertonians armed with blue paint were planning retribution for the 1962 sabotage at Goodison. No evidence appears to exist of Evertonians ever carrying out such antics. 

In March 1964, after Liverpool had travelled to Filbert Street and beaten Leicester City 2-0 en route to claiming the 1963/64 League Championship, a short paragraph in the London Evening News of 28 March 1964 relayed the following:

Painting the Ground Red

The goalposts and corner flags at Leicester City’s Filbert Street ground were painted red today by jubilant Liverpool supporters. Slogans were painted on the main stand and the trainers’ bench and an attempt was made to paint the touchlines red. Police were called, but Leicester City secretary Eddie Plumley said “no official complaint will be made to Liverpool.”

Brammall Lane, the home of Sheffield United was the next victim of the craze, with (possibly Sheffield Wednesday supporting) students suspected of breaking in to paint the goalposts blue and white prior to a First Division match against Arsenal in November 1963. Sunderland supporters defaced the Newcastle United goalposts and pitch with paint in November 1965, prior to the Tyne-Wear derby, with Newcastle fans painting the Roker Park posts black and white in the early hours before the return fixture two months later. Nottingham Forest’s goalposts at the City Ground were painted black and white overnight prior to their F.A. Cup third round tie with Bolton Wanderers in January 1968. In November 1973 Watford took matters into their own hands, painting their goalposts in their black and yellow club colours for their F.A. Cup first round tie versus Chelmsford.

In September 1964, The Star Green ‘Un newspaper reported on a novel concept employed by a Sunday League club in the suburbs of Derby:

‘Wilmorton, who caused a minor sensation in the Derby Central Alliance by painting their goalposts red so they could be seen better in bad light, have had their idea banned by the Corporation Parks Department. Although the team has played several games with the red posts, which are within the laws of football, the Parks Superintendent, Mr. Frank Constable, has had them repainted white. Mr. Constable explained yesterday: “The goalposts and pitch are owned by the Park, and Wilmorton do not have the exclusive use of them.”

Earlier tales of goalpost embellishment include Sunderland trialing floodlights for a friendly against Racing Club de Paris in 1933, with their goalposts painted yellow. A Welsh League fixture between Merthyr and Barry in March 1947 went ahead in thick snow with the goalposts painted red to make them stand out against the white of the snow. According to a Daily Mail report from May 1948, Hull City players on tour in Denmark were surprised to find the goalposts for their friendly at Aarhus ‘painted red and white,’ the colours of the Danish flag. A Daily Mirror article from May 1955 stated that the goalposts at the People’s Stadium in Budapest where Scotland – including future Everton captain Bobby Collins of Celtic and Billy Liddell of Liverpool – were due to play the Mighty Magyars ‘are painted red and white… like dazzling barber’s poles.’

Possibly the earliest ever instance of alternative goalpost decoration comes from a rather cryptic line in the Sports Argus of 16 December 1899:

‘The Villa goalposts have been painted another colour. It’s a sort of crushed-strawberry just at present. Why this chameleon business?’

Villa were reigning League Champions at the time and would go on to retain their title in the 1899/00 season. Maybe they were onto something!

Jamie Yates

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Sources

Smith, Billy, Everton Chronicles: Blue Correspondent online

Prentice, David, The ‘real’ story behind Everton’s enduring anthem Z-Cars, Everton FC HS website

stevelina YouTube account, Everton 2 v 2 Liverpool 22 September 1962

Liverpool Echo

London Evening News

Daily Mail

Daily Mirror

The Star Green ‘Un

Sports Argus

Find My Past

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