THE CONCISE HISTORY OF EVERTON FC
Uniquely Documented

The oldest Everton team photo in existance1881

I have been on many missions over the years regarding our club Everton and what I am to reveal to all Blues over the world ranks with our quest to remove the previous tenure, its that serious and special. I hope I am worthy of representing the magnitude of what we possibly might miss out on. It’s regarding the David France collection.
You may well ask what’s this is about, well David France has a collection of memorabilia of our club, which has no match anywhere in the world for any club. Some statement that, so how do I back this up. The following may convince you of this bold statement.
If you know your history you will know that Everton are one of the founder members of the football league way back in 1888. First we played in a far corner of Stanley Park playing local Parish ’s. Well there’s a programme from that era .The very first season tickets are here ,from 1881 to 1892. What if I told you there is the official tenders for the construction of Anfield, one of our first homes, was present in the collection .How about over forty medals covering every major competition won by Everton between 1890and 1985 impressed yet? How about shirts and International caps from our most famous players How about ledgers (29 Volumes) documenting all the weekly meetings of directors, what was said, meticulously minuted. Every football fans dream of knowing what goes on in the boardrooms, the corridors of power where the club is driven or forsaken. Decisions made that made us a massive club steeped in history. How we came to split from Anfield (1892) in detail and the construction of Goodison Park right through to the first club with all round double Decker stands .
How our ground was chosen for a FA Cup final way back in 1894 and the arrangements made to fulfill that game at Goodison
Even a section where we discussed playing in red but opted for a salmon variation at the time .
How we came to be nicknamed ‘The Blackwatch’ because of the kit change to all black.
Great folklore names of Everton, John Houlding ( who went on top form Liverpool FC), George Mahon ( who many think of being the father of Everton), John Baxter, Will Cuff( who served our club for over fifty years. From board member to chairman ) Tom McIntosh, Theo Kelly and Sir John Moores .All are in these books with their signatures building up a picture of how we were run week by week .How we became a Limited company with an original issue of 500 one pound shares. It’s incredible to read. How apt that now in our 125th season a fellow Evertonian is making available our definitive history that no other club has.

The first time Dixie was written into the team

This article is for all Blues, including the club. For many months others and I have tried to find a way securing this collection, the equivalent of the crown jewels in the tower for Evertonians now and later generations. I've talked to all parties regarding securing it culminating with this item being on this years AGM as matters of business .If it goes it goes but not without a fight. Last week the Everton archivist, Gordon Lock came to David Frances home to see part of this collection to see what all the fuss is about. This week Sir Philip is going to view it, so fair play to them on this. Followed by yours truly with Keith Wilson , my quest will take us to Chester were I will do my best to describe what I see and take some pictures .I will be Lord Caernarfon looking into Tutankhanmun's treasures for my fellow Blues. Lets hope a deal can be done we'll sort out what to do with it later .I know deep in David's heart he wants the club to have it .He could secure more money if he splits the collection up.
Below is a short letter I used from David Prentice for a Shareholders Committee meeting. David is as big a Blue as you or I and has written pieces in the Echo regarding this unique collection. David is also a leading expert on Everton history and has written books with David France on this subject.

Dear Ian,
Thanks once again for your contribution to the groundshare debate, but in the meantime here's what I can tell you about David's collection.
As you know David is in the process of relocating to Canada, largely through reasons of ill health, and as a result is willing to part with his remarkable collection of Everton memorabilia.
He is a very wealthy man in his own right so cash is not an issue, but being a hard-nosed businessman - and having a wife who is likely to be left on her own in the near future, he would certainly not be prepared to make a gift of his memorabilia.
He is also keenly aware of his own mortality and as such wants to leave some kind of public legacy - hence the recent books he has been producing, and hopefully the institution of a public display of some of the items of his collection.
He has had the collection valued by both Christie's and Sotheby's who described it as "the most impressive and most thorough one-club collection of memorabilia they have ever seen."
If you wait until tomorrow I can get a name and a number for the man who scrutinised the collection and made this statement.

The undoubted centre-piece of the collection is a series of official ledgers containing every board-meeting minute from 1883 to 1970. These originally belonged to Everton but presumably during the reconstruction of the Main Stand in 1970, were shamefully thrown out.
One keen eyed fan obviously plucked them from oblivion and from there they found their way onto the collector's market.
David spent the best part of 20 years collating them - and for the final piece of the jigsaw, a fairly meaningless volume relating to the 1954 season, had to part with a Dixie Dean medal.
Should these ledgers go to an auction house they would obviously be dismantled and the more historically significant entries sold separately i.e. the ledger which details the split which formed the current Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs.
These ledgers effectively ARE the history of EFC and should be a matter of of public record - but, of course, Ian, you don't need me to convince you of that.
In addition to the ledgers David has a medal from every single league championship and FA Cup success in the club's history - apart from the 1995 Cup success. Modern players have no financial need to sell their precious medals.
He has stipulated, though, that he would not sell any medals, which had belonged to players still living. (He doesn't want them to think he is cashing in on their financial hardship).
His programme collection, though, is probably the most display friendly part of his collection.
He has every single home and away programme from the present day all the way back to the 1920s. It really is an astonishing collection.
Even before that there are only a handful of omissions. The first League season of 1888-89 is complete. Again, the programmes alone have been conservatively priced at £250,000.
Money, however, is not David's motivation for selling. He would be more than prepared to let Everton buy them on the never never, so long as they were placed on public display somewhere (that infrequently populated satellite megastore on the corner of Bullens Road/Gwladys Street maybe).
Charge fans a couple of quid a go to go in and you could even have a self-financing project.
David also has other bits and bobs like player's contracts rare books etc. etc. I believe, like you Ian, that it would be a crime if they went onto the open market.
Imagine a red buying the page, which details the split in 1892!!!!!
If you need any more info don't hesitate to give me a buzz.
Cheers, Prenno.
The Shareholders Association chairman John Sinnot says “We must secure this history of Everton at all costs ,it’s our duty to all Evertonians around the world ”

David France with the great Alex Young

A little bit about the man who has formed this fantastic collection.

There are good and great Evertonians, David France is a great Evertonian.
One of David’s earliest recollection of a game is from 1956/57 when we drew with the great Busby Babes 3-3, who sadly died a year later in a plane crash in Munich. He remembers the green grass shinning before this game and the expectancy as a lad to see his hero’s in the flesh
His favourite period was from 68-70 .David names Brian Labone as the greatest Evertonian he has met ,( Remember Brian’s quote ? One Evertonian is worth twenty reds) , Colin Harvey he describes as the most complete player he has seen for Everton .
The nicest man he met was Howard Kendal and the most skilful Alex Young. A special mention also went to Alan Ball of course . Ball would be the first name on his team sheet.
The transfer of the Ball of Fire made David sad like all Evertonians at the time ,you can equate the feeling then if we sold Rooney now .
I asked David who apart from Wayne impressed him now at Goodison he told me Radzinski .Rad gives us an option with his pace but he like all strikers needs to be fed the ball ,David believes that Wayne should play behind Radzinski and another striker ,many agree .

David France was the founder of the first charity for helping ex football players , Blue blood .
Not only the creator of this fantastic charity but to date the biggest donator and for this alone David deserves respect .So many ex greats have been helped by the foundation over the years .I asked what sticks out in his mind, he replied “When we did the first fun raising dinner at the Adelphi, Gordon Watson was brought in in a wheel chair. With monies raised we paid for his operations so that he could walk again .The following year Gordon walked in like an all conquering Roman Emperor with the FA Cup held aloft .I remember the sight and many older Evertonians watching Gordon with tears in their eyes. Gordon was pain free for over a year after that function and has sadly passed away. But the foundation changed his life when all hope was lost .He was helped by the Everton extended family in his hours of need. Gordon West is a changed man because of this charity like many others. When I spoke with Gordon five years ago he would look down at the ground and hobble away not getting into company. Now you can’t get rid of the dry wise cracking Yorkshireman. Westy after his knee operation met David and said, “Before I met you I had a limp! You’ve changed my life ”as he gripped David’s hand like the balls he saved for us in goal .You can see this charity gives David great pride, think about it its quite an achievement Blue Blood.

Tony Kay’s purchase

David first started his collection in 1980. I asked David what was his favourite piece in the collection and why? He replied that he thought the first season ticket ever, its condition is remarkable. It’s a small piece but it marks the beginning of our club for fans so well. David’s eyes lit up when he showed me the season ticket he cherished it in his hands as if it was his new born son, well it was the birth of the Blues for the supporters to watch the team. He remembers the night he acquired it from someone in Southport. On the way home he stopped the car in Bootle under a lamplight and looked again at what he had in his possession. It felt like he had won the lottery and the FA cup all in one .What a happy Evertonian David was that night .
David showed me player’s contracts and the original documentation of our offers for players ,their acquisition and sales .Tony Kay’s deal for £60,000 from Sheffield Wednesday stood out to me as did Dai Davies sale from Swansea for £22,222

 

The first season tickets ever for Evertonians

Next to this prize possession was the second years season ticket .I then asked what did he consider was the crown jewel of the collection.
David said as a body it must be the ledgers. These books loving restored in bounded books are the heritage of the club. They show how the club was formed and run in detail signed and documented. They are the back bone of the club .I glimpsed into one of these ledgers it was like going into a time machine, Doctor Who’s Tardice could have taken me there .I read a small piece regarding the scouting and final signing of Dixie Dean .We offered Tranmere £2700 who wanted £3000 in the end we had to meet their demands such was the talent of Dixie. Even then we bartered .I read on to a part of when Dixie was first written into the team against Arsenal away.
William Ralph was bought on the Friday and in the team next day. I still can’t believe what I was reading.

Original ledgers before the split of the Merseyside clubs

David said in all his transactions he was always fair to people never ripping anyone off (my words not David’s). He has never sold any Everton memorabilia apart from a Dixie medal to secure the final piece in the ledger collection .The ledger does not show as much as the other s but the dealer know of its value to David and made him part with the medal and a considerable sum of cash. This ledger was the hardest piece to secure and the saddest with the loss of the medal to a person he did not know in Frodshom.

Dixie in white kit, one of my instant favourite pictures, which I saw on a memorable afternoon

I asked David how will he feel when the collection eventually goes, he replied that he will be pleased .I was a bit surprised by his answer and when I queried it he told me that what he had achieved and accomplished with this labour of love made him feel he had done his best to rescue our lost history and now it was complete again .I know David had in mind Everton as the buyers.
There is a story going around that some of these ledgers where found in a skip. David had heard about this but knew nothing really about it. Apparently some these jewels of the club were thrown out about 1994/95 when Peter Johnson did a refurbishment of the club and making room when the Park End Stand was being built .I don’t think David hung around skips when having a management job in a oil company at the time, do you? David did buy one ledger for a £150 in a junk shop in Widnes but on the other side of the coin his devotion to the cause had him part with £78,000 for ten special ledgers and other pieces. This deal was made in Lincolnshire and the recipient bought a bungalow with the proceeds. When his wife Liz found out she obviously was none too pleased and told him to take them back until David explained that one of the items was Tommy Lawton's England kit .Now Liz’s mum went to school with our great centre forward so it eased the blow a bit. Apparently the shirt colour ran into the shorts as it was raining during the match .No Umbro or Puma stay colour materials then.
Parting with that much money shows the man’s obsession to complete a valuable part of the history of the club.

Some of the shirts and caps

I then enquired how was the asking price was calculated. This is where the big guns come in of valuers. Christie’s, Southerbys and the now respected ‘Sports Programmes ’gave David’s starting price. They have said that no other club has got this type of collection, the depth and magnitude are mind blowing not just to Evertonians but collectors of all domains. The programmes alone are conservatively priced at a quarter of a million. There are over six thousand
Match programmes ,most are complete seasons from Queen Victoria’s era onwards. In those programmes there are diamonds not just for Blues but for many many other football clubs. There is a programme I held showing Everton’s first game against Newton Heath, now called a more famous name Manchester United.
How much is just that programme worth alone to Man Utd. It’s the same with Glasgow Rangers and Celtic programmes versus Everton in 1890. 1890! Just think about their values.

First time in the 2nd division and the programme from that game

There’s a programme of Everton v Church in 1887. Before the formation of the league Parish teams played each other we were called St Domingo at the time then later EVERTON
Notts Rangers, Burslem Port Vale, Burnley, Derby County, Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, WBA, Blackburn Olympic, Wolves all in 1888 it just goes on and on .I doubt the above clubs have any programmes in this condition of their history. Put some of these on E Bay !
Even the artwork of the adverts in these programmes must be worth a fortune. Theatres, National firms and later car adverts, even down to Soap and Bicycle firms .A history of national importance is logged within these programmes charting our changes over the years in leisure and material wants and needs .

The complete set of Everton cigarette coupons

The more I looked at this collection the more I felt privileged to see it never mind touch and read some of it .For me to digest a tenth of it I would have had to spend a week at David’s .Before you would be burglars ask where does David live in Chester the collection is kept secure in Bank vaults sealed in airtight containers. Such is its value .
I asked does this collection have to be paid for in one lump sum ? David told me where Everton are concerned he is flexible and it can be paid for over a period of two or three years .Keith’s , who was my companion for this expedition to our treasures, eyes lit up with the hope we could secure this once in a life time opportunity for Evertonians on the never never .Keith knows a lot more than I do on Everton’s history and was flabbergasted by its enormity .We were both kids for a while in the Aladdin’s cave for Evertonians .

First ever league match programme

What’s been the clubs reaction to it ? Very positive said David . As I said,before I came to see the collection Sir Philip and Everton’s archivist Graham Lock had been to view this one off special collection.
At the end of the month David told me a very hard decision has to be made, I knew what he meant when he looked at my eyes frightened at the thought of losing our history. There are six interested parties to date. Sotheby’s are back again on Tuesday

David is in ill health; recently he has had several tumors removed which thankfully, were benign.
With this in mind Liz and David are moving to Vancouver where the climate is better for his condition . He has to look to the future and look after his family like any man would ,he is not on the rich list by any means but knows that this collection being sold will help his later years be more comfortable. You can’t argue with him selling this labour of love now .
You can’t just give away a fortune, He’s not Paul Getty or Bill Gates. If David had collected coins or stamps with the same fervor over the years and with similar monies spent then think of four times the asking price .
David collected these items when it was not fashionable ,it was a desire to get our history back in order . Memorabilia has only become valuable to the masses in the last ten years but over the years collectors knew that David wanted anything from our history .He has had to pay a price for that desire . For amassing over 25 years this backbone of the club I think David should be in a fans Hall of Fame .

The charity shields versus Man Utd 1963, Liverpool 1966 and Chelsea 1970

We have lost our history once and through David’s devotion we have it back in one piece please God we don’t lose it again . If this collection is broken up it would fetch more than the asking price but it would go to far flung reaches of the Country if not the world and NEVER would we be able to get it back together again ,we would not be able to afford it .
As David Prentice says how would you feel if a rich red bought part of our history claiming it as theirs .
Supporters and clubs from all over Britain would be represented at the auctioneer’s, bidding for such and such because their club’s history is there right from the start of this world religion .
David has done his bit to get this collection back together its up to the club now to secure it now ,then decide what to do with it .I don’t envy the board just now for many reasons but if this thread of our history is lost we will be so much poorer than the payments .
Without your history in a tangible way you are just another club ,but we are not just another club are we ?
‘And if you know your history ’has hardly ever been brought to the fore as much. Sure you can argue to spend the money on a new player, we can always get another player but we will never, I repeat never have an opportunity like this again . Its our history our club. I hope the present custodians secure it ,I really do .Many will never forgive them if they don't or can’t.
Its been lost once please don’t lose it again! If he have been impressed with what is on offer please contact the webmaster to see what we can do as a unit to secure our past .Time is running out please help you will never regret your part in keeping our history for generations to come .
THIS TIME WHEN IT’S GONE ITS GONE FOREVER ! Ian Macdonald. (15/11/03)

Some of the medals of the collection

Click Here For The Full Details of The Collection

What do you think? e-mail bluekipper.com