The History of Everton Football Club
If you’re a fan of Everton FC, you’ll know that it is one of the most popular and oldest football clubs in the world. The club has quite a popular following, attracting thousands of sport fanatics on a global scale who often look to the latest football betting sites to place wagers on the renowned side. Though, what makes Everton such an incredible force that has supporters, punters and bookies all over the world take a keen interest in the club? Let’s take a walk down memory lane and discover the experiences that Everton underwent to become one of the biggest clubs in the history of football.
Humble Beginnings for Everton FC
In the club’s entire existence, Everton FC only spent four years outside of the top flight in English football and won nine League titles, five FA Cups, and the 1985 Winner’s Cup. For those who don’t know, the club boasts a long and illustrious history and has been around for a whopping 139 years as of 2017. That being said, the history dates back as far as 1797, although Everton FC was officially established in 1879 under the name of The St. Domingo Football Club. The team then changed its name to Everton in November 1879 in reference to the district in which it was located. The club’s home ground was initially located at Stanley Park before moving to Priory Road, although they were soon evicted after complaints about disturbances caused by fans. Everton then went on a mission to find a new home and settled at Anfield Road in 1884, although George Mahon, organist at St Domingo’s Church, was not happy with the new premises. After joining forces with James Baxter, the club moved for the final time to Mere Green on the north side of Stanley Park, which would soon after become known at Goodison Park. This new territory was the first proper football ground in England.
Then and Now- Everton FC Today
With this change, came a new uniform, and after trying out various colour combinations, the team finally settled on the royal blue that Everton is known for today. Everton quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the top football clubs of its time, forming part of the original 12 founding members of the Football League, the first professional football club in the world. Everton FC soon earned love, respect and nicknames within the industry, known internationally as ‘The Toffees’ and locally as the far less creative ‘The Blues’. This was to differentiate the team from rivals Liverpool Football Club, who was dubbed as ‘The Reds’. The toffee reference is based on The Toffee House, a sole proprietor that sold toffees to fans travelling to Goodison Park to watch Everton play. These treats were distributed inside the stadium as patient fans eagerly waited for kick-off. This is said to be the start of Everton’s tradition of dishing out toffees before a match took place at the park and has since stuck (no pun intended) to the club for many years to follow. In the past, a local issued these candies to the crowd on a weekly basis, but today, the activity is sorted by young lasses attired in traditional wear to do the honours.
The official Everton crest takes the form of an erect tower bordered by two wreaths. The tower represents Rupert’s Tower, an old bridewell located in Everton Brow, which was originally built in 1787 as an overnight holding site for delinquents and wrongdoers before being hauled away to the magistrate’s court the following morning. These days, the old stone bridewell can be seen as downtrodden and is now used by council workers to store their tools. In the same breath, the Tower on the crest has too gone through some aesthetic changes back then till now, with a few changes in the overall design.