David France Collection - Club Ledgers

Club Ledgers

Often referred to as The Everton Scriptures, and sometimes as The DNA of Everton, the official club ledgers chronicle the minutes of the weekly scheduled and emergency meetings of the early Management Committee, and latterly the Board of Directors, and provide details of the decisions of the Directors at over 5,000 meetings recorded in over 10,000 handwritten pages.

The collection boasts an unbroken sequence of 29 volumes from 1886 through to 1964. Prepared and signed by famous club chairmen, including John Houlding, George Mahon, Will Cuff and Sir John Moores, the ledgers provide the most complete documentation of the development of a professional football club.

Also, because Everton were one of the last professional clubs to appoint a manager, the Directors were responsible for all scouting appraisals, transfer negotiations and team selections during the first six decades, as well as documenting details of players’ wages, bonuses and benefits. The ledgers provide these details on a number of stars from the club’s history, including Nick Ross, Jack Southworth, Bert Freeman, Dixie Dean, Warney Cresswell, Cliff Britton, Joe Mercer, Tommy Lawton and Alex Young.

However, the ledgers do not just deal with the club’s players; they also include important decisions on the overall running of the club. Some of the most notable events recorded, from the early history of the club, in the ledgers include:

• The founding of the Football League and the subsequent preparations for the inaugural season (Ledger A: 1886–1891)
• The winning of the League Championship, as well as the awarding of the first ever League Championship medals (Ledger B: 1891–1892)
• The build up of the rent dispute and the departure from Anfield to Goodison Park, which subsequently led to the formation of Liverpool F.C. (Ledger 1: 1892–1898)
• The first FA Cup final to be hosted by a League club, as well as the annual selection of team colours – before Everton settled on royal blue shirts and white shorts in 1902 (Ledger 2: 1898–1903)
• The first overseas tour by an English League club (Ledger 3: 1903–1905)
• The first FA Cup triumph by a Merseyside club (Ledger 4: 1905–1907)

There are also more recent historical events:

• Ground improvements to accommodate over 78,000 spectators at Goodison Park; the installation of state-of-the-art floodlights and under-soil heating and the elimination of the maximum wage for professional footballers. (Ledger 24: 1956–1959)
• The first participation of a Merseyside club in European competition, as well as initial preparations for five 1966 World Cup matches at Goodison Park, including one of the semi-finals. (Ledger 25: 1959–1964)