Geary equalises for Everton

29.11.90
Plenty of animation behind the goal at Anfield. Not much sign of life in the Blackburn defence though.
Fred Geary played 100 games for Everton in 6 seasons, scoring 86 goals. This was his 13th goal of the season 1890-91, which he ended with 20.

Alex Latta

Lloyd's Weekly London  Newspaper - 30.10.92

The British League Cup 1902

To be the Champion of Britain was, as we have seen, the equivalent of being the Champion of the World. The domestic football of England and Scotland was without equal well into the 20th century.
From the 1870s onwards there were showdowns between English and Scottish clubs , both formal and informal, and then in 1902 a tournament called The British league Cup was played.
Unfortunately this was not the grand championship that it might have been. The tournament was set up by Glasgow Rangers as a fundraiser for victims of the Ibrox Disaster. The trophy Rangers donated was the £100 Exhibition Cup that they had won by beating Celtic at the Glasgow International Trade Fair the previous year. 

The four teams that took part in the British League Cup were the League Champions and runners up from the recently ended domestic season in England and Scotland, namely Sunderland, Everton, Glasgow Rangers and Celtic.

The Football League Div. 1 1901-02
		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Sunderland	34	19	6	9	50	35	44
2	Everton	34	17	7	10	53	35	41

The Scottish Football League Div. 1  1901-02
		P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Glasgow Rangers	18	13	2	3	43	29	28
2	Celtic	18	11	4	3	38	28	26

30.04.02- Celtic 5 Sunderland 1
Played at Ibrox, attendance 4,000

Celtic	Sunderland
Edmond	E. Doig
Watson	Annan
Battles	Watson
Loney	Ferguson
Marshall	McAllister
Orr	Jackson
Livingston	W.Hogg
McDermott	R.Hogg
Campbell	Miller
McMahon	Gemmell
Quinn	McLatchie

Billy Hogg was the only Englishman in the Sunderland team. Both sides were considered to be below full strength and receipts of £100 were taken. 

01.05.02- Everton 1 Glasgow Rangers 1.
Played at Goodison*, attendance 8,000.

Everton	Glasgow Rangers
G Kitchen	M Dickie
G Eccles	N Smith
J Watson	J Drummond
S Wolstenholme	N Gibson
J Blythe	B Neil
W Abbott	J Stark
J Taylor	J Graham
J Brearley	J Robertson
A Young	R Hamilton
J Bell	J Miller
T Dilly	A Smith

20 minutes of extra time was played.

03.05.02-  Glasgow Rangers 3 Everton 2
The replay was held at Celtic Park. Four of the Rangers players from the first match were absent, as they were playing in the international at Villa park that day (this was the 'replay' of the Ibrox game at which the tragedy occurred) the players were Nicol Smith, Drummond, Robertson and Alex Smith. Everton's Jimmy Settle appeared for England.


17.06.02- Celtic 3 Glasgow Rangers 2
The final was played at Cathkin park on 17.06.02- This was the day of The Coronation of King Edward VII.  A crowd of 12,000 turned out. The takings were reported as being '£265 at the gate and £49 at the stands'- the total raised by the 4 matches was £900.

Celtic		Glasgow Rangers
McPherson	GK	Dickie
Watson	FB	N.Smith
Battles	FB	Crawford
Loney	HB	Gibson
Marshall	HB	Stark
Orr	HB	Robertson
Crawford	F	Lennie
Campbell	F	Walker
Quinn	F	Hamilton
McDermott	F	Speedie
Hamilton	F	A.Smith

Jimmy Quinn

Celtic's Jimmy Quinn scored 3 goals in the final. 

*Some sources state that this match was played at Celtic Park- a report in The Edinburgh Evening News (02.05.02) makes it clear that this was not the case.

Alf Milward

Lloyd's Weekly London  Newspaper 17.01.92

Joining Everton from Marlow in 1888, Alf Milward made 225 first team appearances for the Toffees in 9 seasons,scoring 95 goals. He then spent 1 season at New Brighton Tower before moving back south and playing for Southampton and New Brompton in the Southern League. 

Milward represented England 4 times (spread over 6 years), scoring 3 goals. 

Goodison Park

'The first purpose built football stadium in England'- Goodison Park opened on 24 August 1892. FA dignitaries Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall were present, but strangely there was no football match- a 12,000 crowd saw athletics followed music and a fireworks display. Everton's first game at the new stadium was on 1st September 1892 when they beat Bolton Wanderers  4-2. 2,000 less people were present than had been for the fireworks!. The first Everton XI to take to the pitch at the new stadium was:
Jardine, Howarth, Dewar, Boyle, Holt, Robertson, Latta, Maxwell, Chadwick, Millward.
The same line up faced  Nottingham Forest in the opening League fixture on September 3rd (a 2-2 draw).
Out of Doors magazine commented in  October 1892:
No single picture could take in the entire scene the ground presents, it is so magnificently large, for it rivals the greater American baseball pitches. On three sides of the field of play there are tall covered stands, and on the fourth side the ground has been so well banked up with thousands of loads of cinders that a complete view of the game can be had from any portion.it appears to be one of the finest and most complete grounds in the kingdom...

The illustration above shows the friendly between Everton and Heart of Midlothian on November 12th 1892. The match ended in a 2-0 victory for the hosts. The drawing shows the Gwladys Street End and Goodison Road - the old St Luke's Church  is in the background. The corner flags look like they belong on a crazy golf course. 

Liverpool Mercury -  21.11.92

The Association Footballers' Union 1898- 1901

Jack Bell (Everton) -  chairman of the AFU

John Cameron (Everton)- president of the AFU

Now look here, how would any man in business like to have his wages reduced by 25% if his employers could well afford better terms?- John Cameron.

The first Trade Union connected with Association football was founded in February 1898. Given that football was now becoming the Peoples' Game and the majority of players were from proletarian backgrounds, it seems a shame that the AFU wasn't exactly steeped in socialist principles. 

It is often reported that the catalyst for the foundation of the AFU was the introduction of the maximum wage in 1893. However, the maximum wage was proposed in 1893 but did not come into force until 1901. Prominent member Jack Devey (Aston Villa) stated that the AFU were not concerning themselves with wages, and president, John Cameron said that the main objective was to enable players to negotiate transfers, rather than being excluded from the process completely. This was a response to the retain and transfer system, introduced in 1893, that effectively gave the clubs complete control over players, even if they were 'out of contract'. The AFU failed in their attempts to challenge this system, which, incredibly, remained in force until 1963.


By 1901 the situation for professional players had actually worsened. The Football League had introduced a maximum wage and outlawed the payment of bonuses. The maximum wage was fixed at £4 per week- a higher sum than most professionals could hope to earn in the League. On this front the AFU was more of a vehicle for the concerns of star players and Scottish imports who, in a free market, would be commanding wages more in the region of £10 a week. 

In fact 1901 saw the dissolution of the AFU as many of it's more active members had left League clubs to seek employment in the Southern League (which had no wage cap and at the time didn't recognise the retain and transfer system).
Neither the Football Association nor the Football League recognized the Association Footballers' Union.

Everton v Newton Heath 1889

Dancing and funerals...

As the 1888-89 season drew to a close the press reveals that clubs were engaged in an intense schedule of friendlies. The programme above is from Newton Heath's first ever visit to Anfield.
Everton had finished in 8th place in the Football League , Newton Heath had topped the Combination.
Note that the Everton line up was not as advertised, with the following changes made:
J Angus (Waugh)
W Brown (Chadwick)
R Watson (Parry)
W Briscoe (Wilson)
W Wilson (Weir)


These two well known teams appeared at Anfield last evening it being the first appearance of Newton Heath on the ground. The visitors brought a good team with them and Everton were presented by two or three of their second team. About 3,500 spectators assembled. Williams kicked off, and Everton at once pressed. Farmer and Ross punted into goal-Briscoe sent over to Watson and he parted judiciously to Angus, who scored with a splendid oblique shot, four minutes from the start. Good play by Farmer kept Powell busy, but at length Dobson was beaten by Gotheridge. Ross cleared but Brown put the ball though when he had a good opportunity to pass. The play was kept on the Everton right, which was not to the best advantage. From a foul the ball was taken over the Everton lines for the first time. Parry passing by the whole of the home forwards took the ball down,, and Angus obtained a foul, which Farmer put over the bar. Williams and Jarrett rushed away, but Smalley cleared. Watson was fouled when clear away, but the referee gave a foul. Excellent play by Holt gave Watson and Briscoe possession, they passing to Milward and he shot into Hay's hands, who only partially cleared and Briscoe shot through. Good combined play on the part of the home forwards kept the sphere in the opponents goal, Milward at last give Hays a handful, which he had no difficulty in clearing. A good shot by Owen was diverted by Williams who headed out. Everton then secured a foul near goal, and Watson shot through, but as the ball was wrongly placed it was brought back. Williams started, and Tait and Williams ran down. Williams shot to Smalley's hands, and from some inexplicable cause he allowed the ball to fall and scored for the visitors. Back play by Dobson gave Jarratt a possible chance, but Ross came to the rescue. Hays next had a busy time, as he had to fist out five consecutive shots. Doughty and Gotheridge worked their way down, but found Ross good enough for them, and Angus gave to Brown, who raced away, but nothing came of it. This was directly afterwards followed by a foul in goal and Ross scored the third point for Everton. The home team still maintained the pressure but breaks away by Tait and Gotheridge relieved the monotony. Ross gave a foul in goal, but Holt sent up the field, and Watson forced the pace considerably, and the home forwards again became the aggressive. Score Everton 3 goals; Newton Heath 1 goal, Teams Newton Heath:- Hays (T), goal, Mitchell and Powell, backs Burke, Owen, and Jones, half-backs, Tait, Jarrett, Williams, Doughty, and Gotheridge, forwards. Everton:- Smalley, goal, Dobson, and Ross (captain), Weir, Holt, and Farmer, half-backs, Briscoe, Watson, Milward, Angus, and Brown, forwards.

The Liverpool Mercury  16.04.89

Bert Freeman

Bertram Clewley Freeman played a total of 321 league games, scoring 198 goals. He won 5 England caps between 1909 and 1912, scoring 3 goals. He scored the only goal of the 1914 FA Cup Final when Burnley beat Liverpool.
He began his professional carer with Aston Villa, but transferred to Woolwich Arsenal without ever having made a first team appearance. 
In 1908 Freeman was released by Woolwich Arsenal and joined Everton. This proved to be a shrewd bit of business on Everton's part, as in the 1908-09 season Freeman became the League's top scorer, with 38 goals in 37 games.  
Freeman scored 61 goals in 86 games for Everton (including 6 hat tricks). 
In 1910 he moved to Burnley, and was the  top goalscorer in the Second Division in both 1911-12 (32 goals) and 1912-13 (31 goals).

Smart Arridge

Smart Arridge's parents were both English, his father was from Lincolnshire and his mother from Durham. Smart himself was born in Southwick (Sunderland).
The family moved to Bangor in north Wales and Smart, along with his brother* played for Bangor City. Smart played at left back.
In 1892 Smart joined Bootle ( then in Division 2). The following season he joined Everton, for whom he made 56 first team appearances up until his move to New Brighton Tower in 1898. In 3 seasons at Tower Arridge made 88 appearances and scored his only 2 League goals. In 1901 he moved on to Stockport County (67 appearances). in 1903 he returned to Bangor City (he was employed as a ticket collector on the pier).
Under the international qualification rules of the time Smart was only eligible to play for England (the Goodall brothers provide a good illustration of these rules in action). However, between 1892 and 1899 he played 8 internationals for Wales (w 1 d 2 l 5 ) , captaining the side on one occasion (a 4-0 defeat to England in 1899) .

* The Bangor City website confuses the 2 brothers, claiming 'Smart' as a nickname for W.G. Arridge. I have viewed Smart Arridge's baptismal record- Smart was his given name ( he also named his own son Smart). Census records show his brother, William, to be 4 years his senior.

William Ralf Dean - 60 goals

A record that will never be broken.
During the course of the 1927-28 domestic season Bill Dean of Everton, known (to his displeasure) as Dixie, scored 60 League goals for Everton. He also scored 3 FA Cup goals and 4 goals in international friendlies.
During the record breaking season he scored 7 hattricks and was responsible for 58.8% of Everton's League goals (102).
Everton had sealed the championship before the final game , and 48,715 fans were at Goodison to watch the Arsenal match. Dean was on 57 goals. Arsenal went ahead after 2 minutes - Dean equalised a minute later, and in the 6th minute scored from the spot after he was fouled. The record-breaking  goal came in the 82nd minute, Dean heading in from a corner (a third of his 431 career goals were headed).

	Football League Division One					Goal
27.08.27	Everton	4	0	The Wednesday	Goodison	1
	Dean scored Everton’s 3rd.
03.09.27	Middlesbrough	4	2	Everton	Ayresome Park	2
	1926-27 59 goal sensation George Camsell bagged all 4 of Boro’s goals.
05.09.27	Bolton Wanderers	1	1	Everton	Burnden Park	3
10.09.27	Everton	5	2	Birmingham	Goodison	5
14.09.27	Everton	2	2	Bolton Wanderers	Goodison	6
17.09.27	Newcastle United	2	2	Everton	St James’	8
24.09.27	Everton	2	2	Huddersfield Town	Goodison	10
01.10.27	Tottenham Hotspur	1	3	Everton	White Hart Lane	12
08.10.27	Everton	5	2	Manchester United	Goodison	17
15.10.27	Everton	1	1	Liverpool	Goodison
	Dean’s first blank of the season, game 10.
29.10.27	Portsmouth	1	3	Everton	Fratton Park	20
05.11.27	Everton	7	1	Leicester City	Goodison	23
12.11.27	Derby County	0	3	Everton	Baseball Ground	25
19.11.27	Everton	0	1	Sunderland	Goodison
26.11.27	Bury	2	3	Everton	Gigg Lane	27
03.12.27	Everton	0	0	Sheffield United	Goodison
10.12.27	Aston Villa	2	3	Everton	Villa Park	30
17.12.27	Everton	4	1	Burnley	Goodison
24.12.27	Arsenal	3	2	Everton	Highbury	31
26.12.27	Everton	2	0	Cardiff City	Goodison	33
	Dean’s previous best season tally was 32 (1925-26).
27.12.27	Cardiff City	2	0	Everton	Ninian Park
31.12.27	The Wednesday	1	2	Everton	Hillsborough	35
02.01.28	Blackburn Rovers	4	2	Everton	Ewood Park	37
07.01.28	Everton	3	1	Middlesbrough	Goodison	39
	Dean passed Bert Freeman’s club record of 38 goals, set in the 1908-09 season.
21.01.28	Birmingham	2	2	Everton	St Andrew’s
04.02.28	Huddersfield Town	4	1	Everton	Leeds Road	40
11.02.28	Everton	2	5	Tottenham Hotspur	Goodison
25.02.28	Liverpool	3	3	Everton	Anfield	43
03.03.28	West Ham United	0	0	Everton	Boleyn Ground
14.03.28	Manchester United	1	0	Everton	Old Trafford
17.03.28	Leicester City	1	0	Everton	Filbert Street
24.03.28	Everton	2	2	Derby County	Goodison	45
	The previous record for most goals in a First Division season was 43, scored by Ted Harper of Blackburn Rovers in 1925-26.
06.04.28	Everton	4	1	Blackburn Rovers	Goodison	47
07.04.28	Everton	1	1	Bury	Goodison	48
14.04.28	Sheffield United	1	3	Everton	Bramall Lane	50
18.04.28	Everton	3	0	Newcastle United	Goodison	51
21.04.28	Everton	3	2	Aston Villa	Goodison	53
24.04.28	Burnley	3	5	Everton	Turf Moor	57
05.05.28	Everton	3	3	Arsenal	Goodison	60
	George Camsell scored 59 goals for Middlesbrough in Division 2 in 1926-27.
	FA Cup
14.01.28	Preston North End	0	3	Everton	Deepdale	1
28.01.28	Arsenal	4	3	Everton	Highbury	3
	Internationals
22.10.27	Ireland	2	0	England	Windsor Park
28.11.27	England	1	2	Wales	Turf Moor
31.03.28	England	1	5	Scotland	Wembley
17.05.28	France	1	5	England	Colombes	2
19.05.28	Belgium	1	3	England	Antwerp	4