The priority facing Everton officials during the spring of 1884 was to find a third new home for the Club in six years. The Club had recently appointed John Houlding, who was an alderman and Lord Mayor of Liverpool, as Club president and he soon found a site in Walton Breck Road. It can be seen flanked on one side by Anfield Road and Kemlyn road on another and is only a stones throw from the part of Stanley Park used by Club in its early years of existence.
Belonging to local brewers the Orrell Brothers it was the former home of Everton Cricket Club and would be ideal for the Club's needs. John Orrell had developed one of two fields but the other owned by Joseph had not been built on and it was agreed to loan this one to the club. The terms of the loan were:
‘That we, the Everton Football Club, keep the existing walls in good repair, pay the taxes, do not cause ourselves to be a nuisance to Mr. Orrell and other tenants adjoining and also pay a small sum as rent, or subscribe a donation each year to the Stanley Hospital in the name of Mr. Orrell.’
During the summer months club members and players, galvanized by a common cause, started to work on the ground in order to have it ready for the new season. The open field was quickly turned into an enclosed ground with a fence around the pitch, a small stand was erected on the east side to be used by officials, members, pressmen and a few seats for the more affluent Everton followers. Unbelievably the ground was completed in time for the start of the new season and The Sandon Hotel , owned by John Holding, was chosen as the club’s new headquarters. The Hotel was in easy reach of the new ground and so it could be used as changing rooms for the players as well as a meeting place for the Club's committee..
The season started with an invitation by Burslam Port Vale for Everton to provide the opposition in a game to celebrate the opening of their new ground, the club accepted but sent an under strength side and returned home after suffering a 7-0 defeat.
On the 27 th September 1884 Everton played their first game at Anfield when Earlestown kindly accepted an invitation to provide the opposition. A large crowd came to see the game which kicked off at 3.50pm and they were not disappointed as Everton ran out 5-0 winners. The team that represented Everton for their first game at their new home was:
Lindsay; Marriott, Morris; Pickering, Preston; Richards, Parry, Gibson, Whittle, McGill and Higgins.
Higgins had the distinction of being the first player to score at Anfield with the other goals coming from Whittle (2), Gibson and Richards.
During the close season the Liverpool and District Association announced that 24 new members had been added to the original 12, so this meant that the Liverpool Cup would be more difficult to win. Everton started their defence of the trophy with an emphatic 7-0 victory over Sefton Park based Toxteth Wanderers. Further victories against Southport, Bootle (2-1) and Golbourne saw the club in the final for the second season running. As with the previous season the game was stage at Bootle’s Hawthorne Road ground and the opponents were again to be Earlestown. Despite dominating the game Everton lost 1-0 but the team, and the crowd, were convinced that they had aqualised when a shot appeared to go in the goal but the umpire ruled otherwise. Goals did not have nets attached to them in those days and were not available until invented and successfully tried in January 1891 by City of Liverpool Engineer, J.A. Brodie.
The first season had ended on a disappointing note but the club now had a settled home with a regular income, £200 was raised from gate receipts compared with just £45 the previous season, the club could now start planning for a better future.
The next season got off to a terrible start with home defeats against East Lancashire sides, Bolton Wanderers and Rawtenstall, and then the Lancashire FA demoted Everton to the newly formed Junior Cup competition. This seemed rather heavy handed especially after the decision was announced the team went on an eight game unbeaten run. In the first round of the new competition Everton were drawn at home to Adlington, winning 8-1 but in the next round the club sent a much weakened side to Peel Park from Accrington and an obviously disheartened side lost 5-1.
The following weekend the team made their first visit to North Wales to play a side called the Druids who had captured the public’s imagination when they knocked Bolton Wanderers out of the FA Cup in 1883. The Welsh side proved too strong for an almost full strength Everton side and ran out 4-0 winners. Despite resent results the clubs reputation was growing, so much so that on New Years Day 1886 they played hosts to their first opponents from Scotland when Partick Thistle were the visitors, the home side were out played and lost the game 3-0. The following day Everton then welcomed their first opponents from ‘overseas’ when the Irish club Limavady were the guests, unfortunately for the home side they lost again, this time 1-0.
On the 23rd January Everton traveled the short distance to play Bootle at their new home in Hawthorne Road, despite playing in two Liverpool Cup finals at the ground this was the first time that Everton had played Bootle at their home. The visitors took an early lead and the defence, marshaled by George Dobson, held the Bootle attack at bay to come away with a 1-0 victory.
February arrived and with it Everton’s assault on the Liverpool Cup, they progressed easily past Southport Wanderers and New Ferry before coming up against a junior side from Southport called High Park. The match was played in Southport and aroused great interest in the town with 800 turning up to witness the game. Everton were 2-0 up at half time, but a spirited second half saw the home side pull a goal back just after the break. Everton hung on to gain a hard earned 2-1 victory with the defence, and in particular George Dobson, in great form.
In the semi final Everton played Liverpool Stanley with the game being played at Hawthorne Road, it is reported that 5,000 people, paying £80, witnessed the encounter. Everton won comfortably by 3 goals to nil and with Bootle winning the other semi final the stage was set for the old rivals to dispute the final.
Liverpool Stanley’s ground at Walton Stiles was chosen as the venue and despite not being very big, 8,000 people crammed in to watch the game. Bootle kicked off and with the early exchanges being even it took a brilliant strike from Gibson to break the deadlock, which Everton held onto until half time. After the break Bootle bore down on the Everton goal with their captain, Eyton Jones, having a great game on the left wing. Everton, led once again by George Dobson, were in no mood to lose in the final two years running held on to win a very good game by 1-0.
At Whitsuntide Liverpool Athletic Club put up a shield to celebrate the opening of their new ground on Prescot Road. Eight teams took part and true to recent form Everton and Bootle fought their way through to contest the final. Approximately 8,000 people assembled on the Monday evening to see, what turned out to be, a very controversial match. Bootle, determined to avenge their defeat in the Liverpool Cup, took an early lead which they held until half time. Everton drew level soon after the break when a shot from George Farmer was fisted out by the Bootle goalkeeper, Galbraith, Everton claimed the ball had crossed the line and the referee, Mr. W.H. Bailey, agreed and awarded the goal. The decision was hotly disputed by aggrieved Bootle officials and when the game resumed their players attacked the Everton goal with renewed vigour. Before the end on normal time Bootle had had two goals disallowed and had clearly lost some of their composure, which was not helped when Wilding scored, what turned out to be the winning goal for Everton. Bootle refused to concede defeat and Liverpool Athletic retained the shield until the matter could be settled by the Liverpool and District Committee, when the dispute was heard they found in Everton’s favour.
Until now Everton had played solely for enjoyment but professionalism was arriving and two players, George Dobson and George Farmer, became the first professional footballers to represent the club. Professionalism was here to stay, although not everyone was happy with the direction the game was taking, despite a sharp rise in the overall standard of play. Some clubs refused to embrace the professional game and teams such as; Darwen, Earlestown, Bootle (no connection to the Bootle of today) and Great Lever slipped into obscurity, while others such as Liverpool Ramblers survived, but did not progress and had to play at lower levels of the game.
Before the 1886-87 season Everton made changes to Anfield including extra height to the parameter fence that surrounded the ground, at a cost of £34 - 2s - 6d, with work having to be completed by 6th August 1886. For the start of the 1886-87 season Everton started with a run of nine home games, why they started in this manner is not clear. The club were once again invited to compete in the Lancashire Cup Junior competition and in the first round defeated Fleetwood Zingari 9-0. They then welcomed a team from Accrington called Bells Temperance to Anfield, on arrival the visitors found they faced a weakened Everton side, only three first team regulars were in the side, and ran out 3-2 winners before a crowd of 1,500.
The draw for the Liverpool Cup paired Everton against Bootle in the first round, it was a little disappointing to see the two top sides in the area pitted against each other so early in the competition. The game took place at the Bootle Cricket Ground and an estimated 10,000 people turned up to witness the occasion. Bootle kicked off and had the best of the first half but were unable to turn their dominance into goals. The game was held up on several occasions when fans surged onto the pitch, due to the size of the crowd and also due to the excitement generated by a match which was becoming ‘full-blooded’. The second half started as the first had finish, with the home side continued to pressure the Everton goal and they had a goal disallowed when the Bootle umpire indicated that the ball had in fact passed the wrong side of the post. Twenty minutes into the second half Everton took the lead, the Bootle goalkeeper could not keep hold of left wing cross and Briscoe nipped in to score for the visitors. With renewed vigour, the home side pressed for an aqualiser and only a goal line clearance from George Dobson kept the visitors in front. Once again the crowd encroached onto the pitch and play was held until it could be cleared by the stewards, when the game finally resumed Everton scored a second following a melee in the Bootle goalmouth. The game ended one and a half minutes early when, once again, the crown surged onto the pitch, by the time the playing area was cleared the Bootle players had changed and declined to complete the game leaving Everton the victors.
Further victories against Haydock 5-0, Linacre 13-0 and Tranmere Rovers 9-1 saw Everton in the final for the fourth year in a row. Their opponents this season were Oakfield Rovers , a team consisting mainly of former players from Anfield Road Sunday School. The final was once again played at Hawthorne Road but interest in this season’s competition had waned, possibly due to the early elimination of Bootle. Less than 3,000 people attended the final which ended in a comfortable 5-0 win for Everton, who recorded their third success in the five years the competition had been running.
Aspirations within the club and amongst its supports were growing and it was decided that if was time to enter the FA Cup for the first time during this season, however their first excursion into the nationwide competition did not go well. There was one draw back with the rules that concerned Everton, at the time professional players had to be registered at the club for a set period and as several of the first team did not meet the criteria, a difficult decision had to made. Do the club field a much weakened side or do they field several ineligible players. When the draw was made and Everton were drawn at home to the mighty Glasgow Rangers (Scottish teams competed in the FA Cup at this time) they decided to actually withdraw from the competition rather than breach the rules. The game did go ahead, however, and 6,000 turned up to watch a match that as to be described, at the time, as the finest seen at Anfield. Rangers eventually won 1-0 through a goal in the first fifteen minutes but Everton did not disgrace themselves and struck a post in the second half but an equalising goal would not come and the visitors went home victorious.
Everton’s reputation was gathering speed and over the Christmas period the club was honoured with a visit for the famous amateur side, The Corinthians, and in doing do they became the first team from London to visit Liverpool. The team was put together by N.L. Jackson, who wanted a team that could rival the Queens Park Club from Scotland, and he collected some the most gifted players of the time to play for the club. On several occasions the England national side comprised of the entire Corinthians team. A fall of snow greeted the Southern team on their arrival in Liverpool but this did not stop a crowd of more than 3,000 from turning up at Anfield to watch some the best players in the country. As in their game with Glasgow Rangers, the Everton players gave a good account of themselves and only lost the game 4-2.
Over the Easter period Everton made their first overseas trip when they journeyed to Northern Ireland to play an Ulster Select side in Belfast. The game was scheduled to be played on the Saturday but had to be postponed as the ship carrying the Everton players was stranded in the River Mersey due to fog and was re-arranged for the Easter Monday. The match took place at the Ballynafiegh Cricket Ground and a large crowd turned up to see the visitors from England win 2-1, the Everton goals came from Gibson and Dobson.
Everton re-entered the FA Cup the following season and were to be involved in the biggest controversy so far in the club’s short history. In the first round they were drawn away to Bolton Wanderers, the game was played on the 15th October 1887 and 500 Everton fans made there way to Bolton for the match. The game was played at a high tempo with both teams doing their fair share at attacking but by half-time the score remained 0-0. The second half continued in the same vein and eventually the deadlock was broken. A high ball into the Everton area from the left was cleverly converted by a Bolton player called Roberts to give the home side the lead. Everton pressed forward but no matter how hard they tried they could not break Bolton’s defence and the home side held on to win the game.
Following the defeat the Everton secretary, Alexander Nesbit, lodged an appeal questioning the late registration of a Bolton Player, the Everton official was proved correct and the Football Association ordered the game to be replayed at Anfield. The game ended in a 2-2 draw and this was followed by another draw, 1-1 at Bolton, before Everton finally won the tie after a 2-1 win at Anfield. Everton drew an away tie at the mighty Preston North End in the next round, but this was postponed due to an appeal being lodged by Bolton. They claimed that Everton had, ‘persuaded players to join them by financial inducement’ and the FA ordered an inquiry. The game against Preston went ahead at Deepdale, while the FA deliberated on Bolton’s appeal, with Everton making several changes to the team that had won in the last round. Preston came into the game after recording the highest score in any official game in England, a record that still stands, when they beat Hyde United 26-0. Everton kicked off but Preston took the lead in the fourth minute and were 2-0 up by half time. In the second period the game was played almost entirely in the visitors half and by the end of the game the home side ran out 6-0 winners.
Meanwhile the FA had found Everton guilty and declared that seven Everton ‘amateur’ players were in fact professional and despite the club discarding the players involved, the FA suspended Everton for one month. The Liverpool Association upheld the FA’s decision and in fact punished the club further. Bob Lythgoe, a local football administrator, was dispatched to the Sandon Hotel in order to take the Liverpool Cup from its place of honour in the hotel entrance. A local mason mischievously carved a gravestone to take the place of the trophy, its inscription read:
‘Sacred to the memory of the Liverpool Cup which was won by the Everton Club, 1884, 1886 and 1887 and taken from them by the Liverpool District Association, April 1888. “Gone but not forgotten.” ‘
In retaliation Everton temporarily resigned from the Liverpool and District Football Association as a way of protest and did not enter the next season’s competition.
The FA Cup competition had not quite finished with Everton and in February 1888 Everton were honoured by the FA when Anfield was selected to stage one of the semi finals. It was the first time the City of Liverpool had hosted the penultimate round of the contest. The game was between Crewe Alexandra and Preston North End and around 10,000 people attended the game, which was won easily, 5-0, by Preston.
While the FA Cup debacle was being played out Everton had accepted an invitation to play a game at the Nottingham County’s ‘Goose Fair’. The celebrations took place in October and the game, against Notts County, was played at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. The Nottingham area had suffered from heavy over-night rain and the ground was not its best but despite this the two teams played out a very entertaining 1-1 draw.
Easter 1888 saw Everton Football Club pay their second visit to Belfast, this time to play two matches. The sea crossing was extremely rough and with several players suffering as a consequence the first of the games came a little too early. As in their visit last season Everton played an Ulster Select side at Ballynafiegh Cricket Ground and with players being affected by the trip lost the game 3-2. The next day they crossed the city to play club side Cliftonville and, with the players now fully recovered, Everton ran out 10-1 winners with Briscoe collecting a six goal haul. The Belfast Newsletter reported that the two games had been well attended and that it was becoming clear that, along with last years visit, Everton were helping to make the game very popular in the Province.
As the 1887-88 season drew to a close discussions and meetings were taking place that would change the face of football forever.
