Tag: Everton

Continuing on from my post about the Museum of Liverpool having the largest collection of Everton memorabilia in the world, this is the contract of Everton player Daniel Kirkwood (1867-1928), dating to 1890. He was to play for the team between 1889 and 1893, later becoming a director of the football club before reaching the giddy heights of Everton’s chairman during the 1909/1910 season.

Everton were the big payers at the time, Nick Ross was receiving £10 per month in 1888, which was thought to be twice the amount of any other player in the league. Unfortunately, this contract doesn’t state how much Kirkwood would be earning for his efforts, but Everton were paying around £5 per week at the time to their players, who usually had other jobs. There’s more about him at the Everton Collection. Anyway, I’ve now better focus on reading about today’s Everton team, rather than trying to find out more about the one from 130 years ago which is rather less likely to crop up in pub chat if I’m being honest.

I’m something of a lapsed football fan, once being rather quite knowledgeable about Everton and now unlikely to be able to name more than half of the team. But, since I’ve decided I’m like a young (well, slightly older than young) Tony Cottee with my footballing skills I’ve started to follow it a little more. Still supporting Everton of course (and Whittlesey Athletic F.C. now I’ve seen them play in Great Yarmouth), I’m no glory hunter. Within the next few weeks, I’m confident that I’ll be able to name the entire Everton team, which I accept doesn’t make me a superfan, but it’s all relative.

This is a season ticket from 1890/91, which was the year of Everton’s first league title. That year was the third season of the Football League with Everton storming to the top of the league with 29 points. What I consider interesting, well it’s all relative though of course as I don’t get out much, is that the southernmost team in the league (in geographical terms) that year was West Bromwich Albion. Prizes (of a beermat or something) to anyone who knows when the first southern team managed to get in the league….. Answer at the bottom of this blog post, as anticipation can be overdone.

The Museum of Liverpool holds the largest collection of Everton memorabilia in the world, but I only discovered it as we were about to leave the museum. That led to a flurry of photographs, my standing on my shoelace (I still annoy my friend Łukasz by refusing to double tie shoes as it’s too complex, but that’s another matter altogether) and a reminder to myself that I’d better go back to the museum.

Oh, the answer to my competition quiz question was that it was in 1904 when Woolwich Arsenal hit the big time. I imagine my friend Ross might have known that. Since I know his reading of the blog is erratic to say the least, I’ll ask him in person….