Star Exhibits
1. The two volumes of ledgers that deal with the split of the club in 1892, the move from Anfield and the reasons behind it
The official club ledgers could accurately be described as the DNA of Everton Football Club. They accurately chronicle the minutiae of the running of the Blues from October 1887 through to May 1964. Some of the most momentous changes in English football are contained - including the background and the details of the split in 1892, which, as a result formed a separate entity, Liverpool Football Club.
The ledgers chronicle the formal minutes of the weekly scheduled and emergency meetings of the early Management Committee and later the Board of Directors. In total, there are 29 volumes, manufactured specifically for Everton Football Club by J Mawdsley and Son of Chapel Street, Liverpool. A typical volume measures 210mm x 300mm and consists of 300 pages.
With Everton being the last major club to appoint a manager in 1946, the ledgers detail how the management committee and subsequent board of directors were responsible for all scouting appraisals, transfer negotiations and team selections during the first six decades of the Club's history. This wealth of documented information, has resulted in the 'Everton Scriptures' totaling over 10,000 handwritten pages that are crammed with details of directors' decisions at over 5,000 meetings. They also document details of players' wages, bonuses and benefits.
Examples of the recorded events include Everton's involvement in the founding of the Football League and preparations for the inaugural season (Ledger A 1886-91). They also record the clinching of the league title in 1891 (Ledger B, 1891-92), the acrimonious build-up to the departure from Anfield and subsequent acquisition of Goodison Park (Ledger 1, 1892-1898), the first hosting of an FA Cup final by a League club and annual selection of team colours (Ledger 2, 1898-1903). The first overseas tour by an English club is documented in the ledgers (Ledger 3, 1903-1905) and the first FA Cup triumph by a Merseyside club is recorded in Ledger 4, 1905-1907.
Examples of more recent events recorded in the later ledgers include details of ground improvements to accommodate over 78,000 fans, the addition of state of the art floodlights and under soil heating, the elimination of the maximum wage for footballers (Ledger 24, 1956-59) and the first participation in Europe by a Merseyside club (Ledger 25 - 1959-1964).
David France notes Ledger 1: 1892-1898 as being particularly interesting. Written in copper script, it documents the rent dispute, which built up to the acrimonious departure from the Anfield ground. It was written by the Club’s first Chairman, John Houlding himself.
The ledger entries show that Everton wrestled with Tranmere Rovers over the fee for Dixie Dean in 1925. The Blues quibbled over paying £3,000 for the greatest goal-scorer in the history of the game! They also note where the name of Goodison's favorite son had been written into the team line-up for his debut at Highbury by chairman Will Cuff.
And there is so much more…a gentle flick through the pages of the ledgers is like entering into a royal blue time machine – Everton’s history in the making.
