little curly alan ball
Player Valuation: £70m
May the Good Lord be with you all .
Welcome to our little corner of the Sabbath .
Upon beginning these lessons , it was my intention to focus upon individuals’ specific points of interest , firsts , etc . Well , in the subject of today’s Sermon there is no need to look far .
He represented Everton Football Club for a period of time , which today seems utterly dumb-founding . Given that it was us , it wasn’t all flowers and chocolates , neither . Granted , he saw the high’s , but also experienced the low’s that were to befall us , over what was nearly a quarter of a century . Nevertheless , he represented this great Institution to the very optimum of his ability on each and every one of his 499 total appearances for the Walton Azzuri .
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congregation , may I introduce , Edward “ Ted “ Sagar .
Over the past few months , in drawing up these little studies , it struck me just how many Everton Legends - of various criteria , did not grow up like a lot of us , passed down from Father , or Family , to Son / Daughter . Labby did , certainly . The White Pele and Davie Hickson also , but the rest are from all points of the compass . The common denominator of course being , that they all , “ Got it “ .
Well , today’s recipient , was once more not brought up a Blue , but until the untouchable Neville Southall came along , held the club record appearances for 30 odd years and was looking in all likelihood , to do so for time immemorial .
Without a shadow of a doubt , he most definitely , “ Got it “ alright .
Born , Edward Sagar , on 7 February 1910 , in the Yorkshire Village of Thorne Colliery . Ted came from mining stock , indeed , like everyone from a 20 mile radius was of mining stock . His Father was a Pit-Man , and so naturally young Ted was destined for the subterranean life.
However , he had played football as a junior and was chosen for the Colliery junior side , which was where he came to the attention of the Scout for Hull City - where he had a trial , and ultimately Everton FC .whom liked what they saw and made an offer for the lad , £10 , which was swiftly accepted .
Thus , young Edward agreed to both make the move to Lancashire and also that to a big first division club .
He arrived at Goodison Park in March 1929 and immediately settled well into the Central League side . He was consistent and gained solid reviews and was finally given his chance for the first team in a home fixture versus Derby County , on 18 January 1930 , thus beginning a truly incredible one-club career . The game was won 4-0 and young Ted had hit the ground running . Following the side conceding 4 , 5 and 4 , in three consecutive weeks later in the campaign , Sagar returned to Everton’s goal where he remained for the rest of the year’s fixtures . He made 8 appearances in all in his first season , though the edge was taken off his personal joy as for the first time in our history , the Club suffered the ignominy of relegation .
In a side containing Dean , Cresswell and Critchley , and whom had been Champions only 2 years earlier , and in a manner so archetypal of Chez St. Domingo , they finished 17th the following season and managed to actually fall out of the top flight the year after .
Physiologically , Ted Sagar was slight for a goalkeeper in a time when “ physical “ , was a term used for centre forwards as often as the words centre forward . Upon being returned to the Central League for the whole of the 1930/31 season , he used the time to become acclimatized with the conditions in professional football . Instead of his frame presenting an obstacle , via a training system , whereby he would have 2 lads crossing - from either wing , and another in the area , with the instruction to charge him as they challenged for each cross ; he thus worked out a method to adapt . Indeed , he prospered . He maintained this regime for years and as a result became confident in any given challenge , but when allied to his own excellent handling ability , and again , noted bravery , combined to make him a top all round goalkeeper , and one renowned , despite his frame , for his ability to come for , and collect crosses .
Ted himself put it like this , ..
“ Eventually , I could do it by instinct , and once I got hold of the ball , it very seldom got knocked from my hands “ .
Gutted , personally , as the side went on to lift the Second Division Title at the first attempt , he feared his chance for a winner’s medal had gone after being over-looked for the whole of the successful promotion campaign , Sagar finally established himself as first-choice in 1931/32 . However , given the side was then chosen by the Board of Directors , they presciently altered their stance of a year earlier and reinstated Ted to the starting 11 for the first game back in the top flight .
This would be the breakthrough season for the young Tyke , as we began well . The goals scored column would of course , speak volumes for the attacking potential of the side , but the fact is , their success was built on a solid defensive unit , thus allowing the Glory Boys to , “ do their thing “ .
In the first 13 games that season , they lost 3 and won the rest . These included a 3-1 success at Grey Skull , another 5 games where they scored 3 , and also a 5 , an 8 and a 9 ! They could play .
Meanwhile , young Ted was soon established as the undisputed #1, as the side , from Bonfire Night onwards , a home Derby defeat aside , tore up the place . They scored 4 , four times , 5 three times , a 6 , a 7 and another 9 .
Unsurprisingly , they went on to a superb Title win , as Sagar was now recognised as Everton’s Goalkeeper - he played every game of the Championship , and Everton were back .
The success of the previous 2 years was in trouble of once again nose-diving as 1932/33 began with a victory in the Charity Shield but an opening day defeat at West Brom’ , and 3 more by the time of the season’s first Derby , on October 1 . They recovered , but despite some marvellous results , Newcastle , Wolves and Blackburn being hit for 5 , 5 and 6 respectively , it was too intermittent for a serious challenge on the Title . Moreover , Sagar - and every other Evertonian for that matter , endured one of the worst days of his career , as this magnificent team was mullah’d 4-7 in a bizarre home Derby .
However , there was an upside , as they began a run in that year’s F.A. Cup .
After despatching Luton 6-0 , only weeks after the Derby debacle , they defeated West Ham 2-1 in the Semi Final at Molyneux to take the club back to Wembley for the first time since the Great War .
Furthermore , the game became historically significant after the Football Association , in a reaction to complaints concerning identifying players from the terraces , decided to have the Finalists wear numbered shirts for the first time . Everton wore 1-11 , and their opponents , Manchester City , 12-22 . We went on to lift the trophy in a 3-0 victory , with Ted , as the Match Report noted , “ Taking crosses like a Cricketer “ , thus becoming the first #1 to play in English Football , the first to play at Wembley , first in a Cup Final , and given the eventual score , first to keep a clean sheet and the first to lift the trophy . Not bad , for a kid only in his second full season , and whom had both major medals in English Football by the time he was 23 .
Oddly enough , the team had 2 more games to play after the Final , a win and a loss as they finished exactly half-way down the league .
The following season began with a unequivocal hiding in the Charity Shield , 3-0 to the Woolwich Artillerymen . Moreover , primarily as a result of Bill Dean scoring in the first 6 games consecutively ,then only playing a further 4 League games that campaign , it was to be another , “ down “ , year on the great Roller-Coaster ride that is Everton Football Club . Another Derby defeat - the seventh game ; 3-2 , merely foretold of things to come . The side was ageing . Not only Dixie , but Warney Creswell , Ted Critchley , stalwarts of the glory years would soon need replacing . Britton had been added , along with the 2 Jimmy’s , Stein and Dunn whom would both turn out to be stars , but the side generally was in a state of transition . Ted though , played all but 2 games - his personal nadir coming in a 7-2 coating at the Barcodes on Boxing Day ; along with a swift end to any dreams of a return to the Twin Towers as the holders were summarily despatched 3-0 by Tottingham at that year’s first hurdle , as the side limped into 14th place .
Another facet of this period , was Ted Sagar’s City rivalry with the Liverpool Custodian and himself their longest serving player , Elisha Scott . Scott was touted by the Water - Wing’ers as supreme as Sagar was by our own - Elisha also enjoyed a similar rivalry with Dixie , but this one was about local bragging rights between 'keepers . The competition was such that it resembled that between “ The Flying Pig “ and “ Handbag “ Westy , and The Bin Man and Brucie in later times . Ted himself said how much he enjoyed this period .
The following season 1934/35 saw an improvement in our League standing , to 9th position as Ted was recognised for his outstanding form of the previous 3 / 4 years when he was chosen for his England debut and the first of his four caps in a 3-1 victory over Ireland , in October 1935 . He would play his final game for his Country 9 months later in a 2-3 loss to Belgium .
Moreover , Ted’s favourite ever game for the Blues came in this campaign , a Derby in which Dixie scored a late winner for us .
“ It was one of the greatest games I ever played in . Liverpool seemed to hit me that day with everything but the stand . “
After beating Sunderland 6-2 at home on Christmas Day , then losing 6-0 on Boxing Day , the side scored 5 three times and 6 twice , with Ted playing 38 games as they finished 8th .
1935/36 proved to yet another downturn , as the League campaign never really got going , as Dean missed nearly a quarter of the season . We should have guessed , as after an opening day victory , a 4-0 win over Derby County , was followed a fortnight later by a devastating 6-0 defeat at home to the Bealzebubs . Middlesborough then hit us for 6 , Wolves for 4 and West Brom for another 6 . However , this was more due to the defence itself rather than Ted’s shortcomings , though he was subjected to the headlines after a 3-0 defeat at Chelsea , where he slipped as Mercer attempted a pass back and the ball went in . To make matters worse , he was hurt going for a cross , and the goal therefore open , as the King‘s Road’ers scored the 3rd .
There was also the emergence of T.G. Jones this season , while the F.A. Cup was again lost at the first hurdle , 3-1 to Preston , though despite a late rally , everyone just wanted the season to end .
1936/37 our team was in transition , and despite Dixie being restored to the side , and naturally resuming the scoring thing , and a victory , 2-0 in the home Derby - we lost the away leg 3-2 ; it wasn’t all that . Ted Sagar missed nearly half of the campaign , with Stevenson also coming in and making an immediate impact with both goals and assists . The BIG deal , however , came in February 1937 with the signing of Tommy Lawton from Burnley . Lawton was generally recognised as the “ Boy Wonder “ of English Football , thus , to secure his signature just as they were about to lose Dixie , was a triumph for the Club and gave Evertonians portents of 20 years and more of the greatest centre forwards on the Planet .
We were deposited out of that year’s F.A. Cup in a 3-2 defeat at Tottenham , but with lucky Blues present seeing both Dixie and Lawton scoring in the same game . The feat was repeated 10 days later as Leeds were blasted out of Goodison , 7-1 .
Ted Sagar played 29 games that year , his absence felt as despite Lawton’s arrival , the team finished a much below-par 17th .
Season 1937/38 was most notable for the exit of the greatest player ever to wear the blue of Everton , William Ralph Dean . His body battered from years of never less than optimum service . He played the first 5 games of the campaign , scoring of course in the first , but by October had been replaced in the side by Lawton , but not in the affections of the punters . Nevertheless , the side began to settle down . They were becoming known as a free flowing attacking force with goals all across the side . They won the home Derby and lost the away , and were knocked out of the Cup in the 4th round by Sunderland , as the team finished 14th and Sagar making 26 appearances .
They were also unlucky to lose in the final of the Empire Exhibition Trophy - a competition later expunged from official records , as after beating Rangers and Aberdeen , they were defeated in the final at Ibrox Park , by Glasgow Celtic , 3-1 .
Therefore , 1938/39 dawned , as not only the first without Dixie in over 15 years , yet with a legitimate optimism despite the previous year’s league placing . The campaign began with Lawton soothing many Dixie-withdrawals as he scored in 8 of the first 10 games , as they got off to a flyer .
A home Derby victory further increased optimism and although they lost in the quarter final of the Cup to Wolves they went to the RS and won 3-0 . Mercer , T.G. Jones and Sagar , ever-present , all showed their undoubted class as the side once more went on to the Championship . The average age of the side was below 25 , and with stars in every department , played some wonderful stuff on the way to lifting the trophy , as Sagar collected his second League Championship medal .
Indeed , many feel that prior to the School of Science , that THIS was our greatest ever 11 , as Evertonians everywhere licked their lips for the future .
Yet , in a sequence of events which just so typifies the existence of a Toffee , we began the following season as Champions and , to use a card playing analogy , held all the aces . Little did we know that a Charlie Chaplin look-alike from Wein , would decide to invade Poland and thus instigate the cessation of all football league fixtures as a result of the country being at War .
Don’t forget , this was the second time this very event had happened to us in 24 years . We had only been Champions 4 times and in two of them , War was declared within months . Seriously , go to the bookies tomorrow and enquire what the odds against such a chain of events would be ? Yet , us being Everton , it happened alright .
The Second World War was to last from September 1939 until August 1945 , as we are aware , and this 5 year plus , gap , by the theft of the best years of the careers of most of the side , literally ripped the heart from one of the finest teams to grace the Goodison turf , and in doing so , both shattered the dreams of generations of blues and gave us a portent of how things were going to be over the long term .
One personal milestone for Ted was , whilst stationed in Ulster with the Army , he was invited to guest as Northern Ireland‘s goalkeeper in a War-Time Friendly . Thus having appeared for both England and Northern Ireland .
Indeed , even with the resumption of fixtures in 1945/46 it was only the F.A. Cup which began initially . A two-legged affair - to try to stretch it out as much as possible , we were defeated by Preston , but our problems were worse than merely losing . The guts had been ripped from the whole Club , and the newbies , among them one , Harry Catterick , must have wondered if they were 7 years too late ?
Indeed Catterick scored our first post - World War 2 goal in the first leg defeat . Ted Sagar was injured , however , and missed both games .
The duration of the War had seen Lawton decide he wanted to be near his Mother , and was transferred to Nott’s County - despite her being from Lancashire . Mercer was to join Arsenal in the new year . They did retain T.G. and the ever dependable Sagar , but Champagne Football would be a while in returning to L4 ,4EL , as we were to suffer the most deprived decade in our history .
How the mighty had fallen .
The team literally staggered into the resumption of the League . One thing blues could console themselves with was that Jones and Sagar were still there . Ted was now a veteran and took over the captaincy of the team . However , results did not follow , Derby County over Christmas being a microcosm of the campaign , a 4-1 win on Christmas Day , and a 5-1 reversal a day later , as , middle-of-the-road became their epitaph that year as the new side finished 11th , and to rub salt into the wounds , the Bealzebub‘s took possession of our Title .
1947/48 saw the signing of Farrell and Eglington whom would both become staples of the side over the coming years . Ted Sagar was now 37 , and would be 38 by the end of the season . The campaign , despite an opening day victory at Blackburn , as Eglington scored on debut . However , the next 10 games were indicative of the campaign as we suffered too many silly defeats , a home Derby defeat , 3-0 , putting the Top Hat on it . They did have a run in the Cup , losing a 5th round replay to Fulham , before yet another Derby hiding , this time 4-0 at Grey Skull . Ted played every game as the side struggled to settle down , and meandered to 14th .
The following season 1948/49 was one which would hold significance upon Merseyside Football in particular , for evermore . However , we began the campaign as badly as any I can recall . A first day draw at home to the Barcodes , preceded losses of , 4-0 , 1-0 , 5-0 and 5-0 . A solitary win before defeats 6-0 and 1-0 . Then came the RS ….
It came as no surprise , after those results , that Theo Kelly was relieved of his position as Everton Manager earlier in the month . Thus , with the Club’s Directors once more selecting the team , they went for experience and recalled 6 of the 1938/39 side . Football on Merseyside , as elsewhere , saw a Post-War boom , and a full house was expected for the 169th Merseyside Derby , even despite our form .
As it transpired , a crowd of 78,599 - 4 thousand more than the official capacity of the ground at that time , crammed themselves into the Old Lady . The game itself ended 1-1 , as a record attendance for such a fixture - and indeed any game on Merseyside ; was posted , which still stands today .
The season otherwise was another disappointment in a decade of disappointment . An early F.A. Cup exit to Chelsea and another Derby draw , saw us finish 18th . Sagar though , at 39 played 42 games in all .
1949/50 was , in short , yet another let down . Too many draws ,and when we didn’t draw , we lost . After such a sustained period of World Class Centre Forwards , it was plainly obvious that we required another Dixie . Someone to believe in . Another Hero . Ted was injured twice that year and ultimately played less than half the league games as he reached his 40th birthday , and as everyone else bade , “ Good riddance “ to the outgoing decade , as we again limped in 18th .
1950/51 though , instead of heralding a new dawn , merely exacerbated the nadirs of the old one , indeed plumbed new depths . A dire second half of the season saw the team drop down the table like a stone to the point where they finished bottom and , for only the second - and thankfully , to date , last ; occasion . While this was certainly not the 1938/39 side , they should have had enough to stay in the top flight . Ted Sagar played a total of 20 games in his denouement in the First Division , as blue hearts were broken all over the land .
Aside from the arrival of the Cannonball Kid , Dave Hickson - finally ; the best that can be said for 1951/52 is , at least they arrested the free-fall . A reasonable league campaign was completed without any Laurels , but with a just about acceptable 7th place . Perhaps the most telling result was that year’s exit from the Cup , at the hands of Leyton Orient , 3-1 at home . At least Hickson and John-Willie Parker’s partnership did give cause for hope .
Ted Sagar , now well past his 40th birthday , played only 10 games that year ,including his last league appearance , against Plymouth Argyle on March 29 , as our embarrassment continued .
1952/53 , as far as Ted Sagar was concerned , was the end . He had played his last first class fixture the previous season , and would make just one final appearance for Everton in the Liverpool Senior Cup Final against Tranmere Rovers , thus completing a Club Record at the time of 463 league appearances , and 499 in all . Moreover the fact he was denied one more performance was just plain mean after such service . Indeed , given he was dropped for the whole of his second season , missed all of his last , and had 6 years enforced absence due to Global Conflict , he could have easily posted 700 even 750 games . No problem at all .
That , incidentally , would have been utterly merited and would not have been beaten by Southall , Giggs or whomever you care to mention .
Stand on me .
In composing this lesson , I have been genuinely struck by what Ted Sagar gave to Everton Football Club . 24 years , when you say it quickly , doesn’t seem all that . However , when you actually examine those years , up or down , and there was both , it is genuinely mind-blowing and illustrates beyond doubt that Ted Sagar was a Blue of the very , very highest order . His record for Club appearances would stand today , if not for another Goalkeeping freak of nature , Neville Southall and the prolifery of games in the modern age . Indeed , his tenure of just months less than a quarter of a century - if you don’t mind ; stands not only as a record for Everton FC , but throughout the English game , per se . It is a truly staggering achievement , of which we should be justifiably proud , and one which is unlikely to be ever super-ceded anywhere .
So much taken with Everton , Evertonians and the people of Liverpool in general that upon finally hanging up his boots , Ted became the Licensee of a local Boozer , The Blue Anchor , in Aintree for many years .
Unfortunately , Ted Sagar passed away , on Merseyside , on 16 October 1986 , at the relatively young age of 76 . This man personifies all that it means to serve Everton FC . His youth , his maturity and his old age were spent as , above all things , an Evertonian .
Greats of this club such as Dixie , Labby and The Bin Man , wonderful servants all , would each have to bend their knee and tip their hat , when it comes to recognizing “The Guv’nor “ , as if there was ever a , Mr. Everton , that man would unquestionably be Edward Sagar . His record demands it .
Therefore , My Congregation , this Domingo , thank the Good Lord for providing our forebears with the Legend that was Ted Sagar , and , had he lived , who would have enjoyed his 100th birthday this year , and whose name , when people talk of service to Everton Football Club is a by-word.
Mourn him . We shall not see his like again .
Amen .
Remember , Jesus loves you ‘cause you’re a Blue .
Look after Your peoples .
Peace Out .
The ( Catholic ) Reverand L.C.A.B.
Written in Britain .
"..I know My Peoples hearin' me ...Holler if y'all need me ... Word ..."
Welcome to our little corner of the Sabbath .
Upon beginning these lessons , it was my intention to focus upon individuals’ specific points of interest , firsts , etc . Well , in the subject of today’s Sermon there is no need to look far .
He represented Everton Football Club for a period of time , which today seems utterly dumb-founding . Given that it was us , it wasn’t all flowers and chocolates , neither . Granted , he saw the high’s , but also experienced the low’s that were to befall us , over what was nearly a quarter of a century . Nevertheless , he represented this great Institution to the very optimum of his ability on each and every one of his 499 total appearances for the Walton Azzuri .
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congregation , may I introduce , Edward “ Ted “ Sagar .
Over the past few months , in drawing up these little studies , it struck me just how many Everton Legends - of various criteria , did not grow up like a lot of us , passed down from Father , or Family , to Son / Daughter . Labby did , certainly . The White Pele and Davie Hickson also , but the rest are from all points of the compass . The common denominator of course being , that they all , “ Got it “ .
Well , today’s recipient , was once more not brought up a Blue , but until the untouchable Neville Southall came along , held the club record appearances for 30 odd years and was looking in all likelihood , to do so for time immemorial .
Without a shadow of a doubt , he most definitely , “ Got it “ alright .
Born , Edward Sagar , on 7 February 1910 , in the Yorkshire Village of Thorne Colliery . Ted came from mining stock , indeed , like everyone from a 20 mile radius was of mining stock . His Father was a Pit-Man , and so naturally young Ted was destined for the subterranean life.
However , he had played football as a junior and was chosen for the Colliery junior side , which was where he came to the attention of the Scout for Hull City - where he had a trial , and ultimately Everton FC .whom liked what they saw and made an offer for the lad , £10 , which was swiftly accepted .
Thus , young Edward agreed to both make the move to Lancashire and also that to a big first division club .
He arrived at Goodison Park in March 1929 and immediately settled well into the Central League side . He was consistent and gained solid reviews and was finally given his chance for the first team in a home fixture versus Derby County , on 18 January 1930 , thus beginning a truly incredible one-club career . The game was won 4-0 and young Ted had hit the ground running . Following the side conceding 4 , 5 and 4 , in three consecutive weeks later in the campaign , Sagar returned to Everton’s goal where he remained for the rest of the year’s fixtures . He made 8 appearances in all in his first season , though the edge was taken off his personal joy as for the first time in our history , the Club suffered the ignominy of relegation .
In a side containing Dean , Cresswell and Critchley , and whom had been Champions only 2 years earlier , and in a manner so archetypal of Chez St. Domingo , they finished 17th the following season and managed to actually fall out of the top flight the year after .
Physiologically , Ted Sagar was slight for a goalkeeper in a time when “ physical “ , was a term used for centre forwards as often as the words centre forward . Upon being returned to the Central League for the whole of the 1930/31 season , he used the time to become acclimatized with the conditions in professional football . Instead of his frame presenting an obstacle , via a training system , whereby he would have 2 lads crossing - from either wing , and another in the area , with the instruction to charge him as they challenged for each cross ; he thus worked out a method to adapt . Indeed , he prospered . He maintained this regime for years and as a result became confident in any given challenge , but when allied to his own excellent handling ability , and again , noted bravery , combined to make him a top all round goalkeeper , and one renowned , despite his frame , for his ability to come for , and collect crosses .
Ted himself put it like this , ..
“ Eventually , I could do it by instinct , and once I got hold of the ball , it very seldom got knocked from my hands “ .
Gutted , personally , as the side went on to lift the Second Division Title at the first attempt , he feared his chance for a winner’s medal had gone after being over-looked for the whole of the successful promotion campaign , Sagar finally established himself as first-choice in 1931/32 . However , given the side was then chosen by the Board of Directors , they presciently altered their stance of a year earlier and reinstated Ted to the starting 11 for the first game back in the top flight .
This would be the breakthrough season for the young Tyke , as we began well . The goals scored column would of course , speak volumes for the attacking potential of the side , but the fact is , their success was built on a solid defensive unit , thus allowing the Glory Boys to , “ do their thing “ .
In the first 13 games that season , they lost 3 and won the rest . These included a 3-1 success at Grey Skull , another 5 games where they scored 3 , and also a 5 , an 8 and a 9 ! They could play .
Meanwhile , young Ted was soon established as the undisputed #1, as the side , from Bonfire Night onwards , a home Derby defeat aside , tore up the place . They scored 4 , four times , 5 three times , a 6 , a 7 and another 9 .
Unsurprisingly , they went on to a superb Title win , as Sagar was now recognised as Everton’s Goalkeeper - he played every game of the Championship , and Everton were back .
The success of the previous 2 years was in trouble of once again nose-diving as 1932/33 began with a victory in the Charity Shield but an opening day defeat at West Brom’ , and 3 more by the time of the season’s first Derby , on October 1 . They recovered , but despite some marvellous results , Newcastle , Wolves and Blackburn being hit for 5 , 5 and 6 respectively , it was too intermittent for a serious challenge on the Title . Moreover , Sagar - and every other Evertonian for that matter , endured one of the worst days of his career , as this magnificent team was mullah’d 4-7 in a bizarre home Derby .
However , there was an upside , as they began a run in that year’s F.A. Cup .
After despatching Luton 6-0 , only weeks after the Derby debacle , they defeated West Ham 2-1 in the Semi Final at Molyneux to take the club back to Wembley for the first time since the Great War .
Furthermore , the game became historically significant after the Football Association , in a reaction to complaints concerning identifying players from the terraces , decided to have the Finalists wear numbered shirts for the first time . Everton wore 1-11 , and their opponents , Manchester City , 12-22 . We went on to lift the trophy in a 3-0 victory , with Ted , as the Match Report noted , “ Taking crosses like a Cricketer “ , thus becoming the first #1 to play in English Football , the first to play at Wembley , first in a Cup Final , and given the eventual score , first to keep a clean sheet and the first to lift the trophy . Not bad , for a kid only in his second full season , and whom had both major medals in English Football by the time he was 23 .
Oddly enough , the team had 2 more games to play after the Final , a win and a loss as they finished exactly half-way down the league .
The following season began with a unequivocal hiding in the Charity Shield , 3-0 to the Woolwich Artillerymen . Moreover , primarily as a result of Bill Dean scoring in the first 6 games consecutively ,then only playing a further 4 League games that campaign , it was to be another , “ down “ , year on the great Roller-Coaster ride that is Everton Football Club . Another Derby defeat - the seventh game ; 3-2 , merely foretold of things to come . The side was ageing . Not only Dixie , but Warney Creswell , Ted Critchley , stalwarts of the glory years would soon need replacing . Britton had been added , along with the 2 Jimmy’s , Stein and Dunn whom would both turn out to be stars , but the side generally was in a state of transition . Ted though , played all but 2 games - his personal nadir coming in a 7-2 coating at the Barcodes on Boxing Day ; along with a swift end to any dreams of a return to the Twin Towers as the holders were summarily despatched 3-0 by Tottingham at that year’s first hurdle , as the side limped into 14th place .
Another facet of this period , was Ted Sagar’s City rivalry with the Liverpool Custodian and himself their longest serving player , Elisha Scott . Scott was touted by the Water - Wing’ers as supreme as Sagar was by our own - Elisha also enjoyed a similar rivalry with Dixie , but this one was about local bragging rights between 'keepers . The competition was such that it resembled that between “ The Flying Pig “ and “ Handbag “ Westy , and The Bin Man and Brucie in later times . Ted himself said how much he enjoyed this period .
The following season 1934/35 saw an improvement in our League standing , to 9th position as Ted was recognised for his outstanding form of the previous 3 / 4 years when he was chosen for his England debut and the first of his four caps in a 3-1 victory over Ireland , in October 1935 . He would play his final game for his Country 9 months later in a 2-3 loss to Belgium .
Moreover , Ted’s favourite ever game for the Blues came in this campaign , a Derby in which Dixie scored a late winner for us .
“ It was one of the greatest games I ever played in . Liverpool seemed to hit me that day with everything but the stand . “
After beating Sunderland 6-2 at home on Christmas Day , then losing 6-0 on Boxing Day , the side scored 5 three times and 6 twice , with Ted playing 38 games as they finished 8th .
1935/36 proved to yet another downturn , as the League campaign never really got going , as Dean missed nearly a quarter of the season . We should have guessed , as after an opening day victory , a 4-0 win over Derby County , was followed a fortnight later by a devastating 6-0 defeat at home to the Bealzebubs . Middlesborough then hit us for 6 , Wolves for 4 and West Brom for another 6 . However , this was more due to the defence itself rather than Ted’s shortcomings , though he was subjected to the headlines after a 3-0 defeat at Chelsea , where he slipped as Mercer attempted a pass back and the ball went in . To make matters worse , he was hurt going for a cross , and the goal therefore open , as the King‘s Road’ers scored the 3rd .
There was also the emergence of T.G. Jones this season , while the F.A. Cup was again lost at the first hurdle , 3-1 to Preston , though despite a late rally , everyone just wanted the season to end .
1936/37 our team was in transition , and despite Dixie being restored to the side , and naturally resuming the scoring thing , and a victory , 2-0 in the home Derby - we lost the away leg 3-2 ; it wasn’t all that . Ted Sagar missed nearly half of the campaign , with Stevenson also coming in and making an immediate impact with both goals and assists . The BIG deal , however , came in February 1937 with the signing of Tommy Lawton from Burnley . Lawton was generally recognised as the “ Boy Wonder “ of English Football , thus , to secure his signature just as they were about to lose Dixie , was a triumph for the Club and gave Evertonians portents of 20 years and more of the greatest centre forwards on the Planet .
We were deposited out of that year’s F.A. Cup in a 3-2 defeat at Tottenham , but with lucky Blues present seeing both Dixie and Lawton scoring in the same game . The feat was repeated 10 days later as Leeds were blasted out of Goodison , 7-1 .
Ted Sagar played 29 games that year , his absence felt as despite Lawton’s arrival , the team finished a much below-par 17th .
Season 1937/38 was most notable for the exit of the greatest player ever to wear the blue of Everton , William Ralph Dean . His body battered from years of never less than optimum service . He played the first 5 games of the campaign , scoring of course in the first , but by October had been replaced in the side by Lawton , but not in the affections of the punters . Nevertheless , the side began to settle down . They were becoming known as a free flowing attacking force with goals all across the side . They won the home Derby and lost the away , and were knocked out of the Cup in the 4th round by Sunderland , as the team finished 14th and Sagar making 26 appearances .
They were also unlucky to lose in the final of the Empire Exhibition Trophy - a competition later expunged from official records , as after beating Rangers and Aberdeen , they were defeated in the final at Ibrox Park , by Glasgow Celtic , 3-1 .
Therefore , 1938/39 dawned , as not only the first without Dixie in over 15 years , yet with a legitimate optimism despite the previous year’s league placing . The campaign began with Lawton soothing many Dixie-withdrawals as he scored in 8 of the first 10 games , as they got off to a flyer .
A home Derby victory further increased optimism and although they lost in the quarter final of the Cup to Wolves they went to the RS and won 3-0 . Mercer , T.G. Jones and Sagar , ever-present , all showed their undoubted class as the side once more went on to the Championship . The average age of the side was below 25 , and with stars in every department , played some wonderful stuff on the way to lifting the trophy , as Sagar collected his second League Championship medal .
Indeed , many feel that prior to the School of Science , that THIS was our greatest ever 11 , as Evertonians everywhere licked their lips for the future .
Yet , in a sequence of events which just so typifies the existence of a Toffee , we began the following season as Champions and , to use a card playing analogy , held all the aces . Little did we know that a Charlie Chaplin look-alike from Wein , would decide to invade Poland and thus instigate the cessation of all football league fixtures as a result of the country being at War .
Don’t forget , this was the second time this very event had happened to us in 24 years . We had only been Champions 4 times and in two of them , War was declared within months . Seriously , go to the bookies tomorrow and enquire what the odds against such a chain of events would be ? Yet , us being Everton , it happened alright .
The Second World War was to last from September 1939 until August 1945 , as we are aware , and this 5 year plus , gap , by the theft of the best years of the careers of most of the side , literally ripped the heart from one of the finest teams to grace the Goodison turf , and in doing so , both shattered the dreams of generations of blues and gave us a portent of how things were going to be over the long term .
One personal milestone for Ted was , whilst stationed in Ulster with the Army , he was invited to guest as Northern Ireland‘s goalkeeper in a War-Time Friendly . Thus having appeared for both England and Northern Ireland .
Indeed , even with the resumption of fixtures in 1945/46 it was only the F.A. Cup which began initially . A two-legged affair - to try to stretch it out as much as possible , we were defeated by Preston , but our problems were worse than merely losing . The guts had been ripped from the whole Club , and the newbies , among them one , Harry Catterick , must have wondered if they were 7 years too late ?
Indeed Catterick scored our first post - World War 2 goal in the first leg defeat . Ted Sagar was injured , however , and missed both games .
The duration of the War had seen Lawton decide he wanted to be near his Mother , and was transferred to Nott’s County - despite her being from Lancashire . Mercer was to join Arsenal in the new year . They did retain T.G. and the ever dependable Sagar , but Champagne Football would be a while in returning to L4 ,4EL , as we were to suffer the most deprived decade in our history .
How the mighty had fallen .
The team literally staggered into the resumption of the League . One thing blues could console themselves with was that Jones and Sagar were still there . Ted was now a veteran and took over the captaincy of the team . However , results did not follow , Derby County over Christmas being a microcosm of the campaign , a 4-1 win on Christmas Day , and a 5-1 reversal a day later , as , middle-of-the-road became their epitaph that year as the new side finished 11th , and to rub salt into the wounds , the Bealzebub‘s took possession of our Title .
1947/48 saw the signing of Farrell and Eglington whom would both become staples of the side over the coming years . Ted Sagar was now 37 , and would be 38 by the end of the season . The campaign , despite an opening day victory at Blackburn , as Eglington scored on debut . However , the next 10 games were indicative of the campaign as we suffered too many silly defeats , a home Derby defeat , 3-0 , putting the Top Hat on it . They did have a run in the Cup , losing a 5th round replay to Fulham , before yet another Derby hiding , this time 4-0 at Grey Skull . Ted played every game as the side struggled to settle down , and meandered to 14th .
The following season 1948/49 was one which would hold significance upon Merseyside Football in particular , for evermore . However , we began the campaign as badly as any I can recall . A first day draw at home to the Barcodes , preceded losses of , 4-0 , 1-0 , 5-0 and 5-0 . A solitary win before defeats 6-0 and 1-0 . Then came the RS ….
It came as no surprise , after those results , that Theo Kelly was relieved of his position as Everton Manager earlier in the month . Thus , with the Club’s Directors once more selecting the team , they went for experience and recalled 6 of the 1938/39 side . Football on Merseyside , as elsewhere , saw a Post-War boom , and a full house was expected for the 169th Merseyside Derby , even despite our form .
As it transpired , a crowd of 78,599 - 4 thousand more than the official capacity of the ground at that time , crammed themselves into the Old Lady . The game itself ended 1-1 , as a record attendance for such a fixture - and indeed any game on Merseyside ; was posted , which still stands today .
The season otherwise was another disappointment in a decade of disappointment . An early F.A. Cup exit to Chelsea and another Derby draw , saw us finish 18th . Sagar though , at 39 played 42 games in all .
1949/50 was , in short , yet another let down . Too many draws ,and when we didn’t draw , we lost . After such a sustained period of World Class Centre Forwards , it was plainly obvious that we required another Dixie . Someone to believe in . Another Hero . Ted was injured twice that year and ultimately played less than half the league games as he reached his 40th birthday , and as everyone else bade , “ Good riddance “ to the outgoing decade , as we again limped in 18th .
1950/51 though , instead of heralding a new dawn , merely exacerbated the nadirs of the old one , indeed plumbed new depths . A dire second half of the season saw the team drop down the table like a stone to the point where they finished bottom and , for only the second - and thankfully , to date , last ; occasion . While this was certainly not the 1938/39 side , they should have had enough to stay in the top flight . Ted Sagar played a total of 20 games in his denouement in the First Division , as blue hearts were broken all over the land .
Aside from the arrival of the Cannonball Kid , Dave Hickson - finally ; the best that can be said for 1951/52 is , at least they arrested the free-fall . A reasonable league campaign was completed without any Laurels , but with a just about acceptable 7th place . Perhaps the most telling result was that year’s exit from the Cup , at the hands of Leyton Orient , 3-1 at home . At least Hickson and John-Willie Parker’s partnership did give cause for hope .
Ted Sagar , now well past his 40th birthday , played only 10 games that year ,including his last league appearance , against Plymouth Argyle on March 29 , as our embarrassment continued .
1952/53 , as far as Ted Sagar was concerned , was the end . He had played his last first class fixture the previous season , and would make just one final appearance for Everton in the Liverpool Senior Cup Final against Tranmere Rovers , thus completing a Club Record at the time of 463 league appearances , and 499 in all . Moreover the fact he was denied one more performance was just plain mean after such service . Indeed , given he was dropped for the whole of his second season , missed all of his last , and had 6 years enforced absence due to Global Conflict , he could have easily posted 700 even 750 games . No problem at all .
That , incidentally , would have been utterly merited and would not have been beaten by Southall , Giggs or whomever you care to mention .
Stand on me .
In composing this lesson , I have been genuinely struck by what Ted Sagar gave to Everton Football Club . 24 years , when you say it quickly , doesn’t seem all that . However , when you actually examine those years , up or down , and there was both , it is genuinely mind-blowing and illustrates beyond doubt that Ted Sagar was a Blue of the very , very highest order . His record for Club appearances would stand today , if not for another Goalkeeping freak of nature , Neville Southall and the prolifery of games in the modern age . Indeed , his tenure of just months less than a quarter of a century - if you don’t mind ; stands not only as a record for Everton FC , but throughout the English game , per se . It is a truly staggering achievement , of which we should be justifiably proud , and one which is unlikely to be ever super-ceded anywhere .
So much taken with Everton , Evertonians and the people of Liverpool in general that upon finally hanging up his boots , Ted became the Licensee of a local Boozer , The Blue Anchor , in Aintree for many years .
Unfortunately , Ted Sagar passed away , on Merseyside , on 16 October 1986 , at the relatively young age of 76 . This man personifies all that it means to serve Everton FC . His youth , his maturity and his old age were spent as , above all things , an Evertonian .
Greats of this club such as Dixie , Labby and The Bin Man , wonderful servants all , would each have to bend their knee and tip their hat , when it comes to recognizing “The Guv’nor “ , as if there was ever a , Mr. Everton , that man would unquestionably be Edward Sagar . His record demands it .
Therefore , My Congregation , this Domingo , thank the Good Lord for providing our forebears with the Legend that was Ted Sagar , and , had he lived , who would have enjoyed his 100th birthday this year , and whose name , when people talk of service to Everton Football Club is a by-word.
Mourn him . We shall not see his like again .
Amen .
Remember , Jesus loves you ‘cause you’re a Blue .
Look after Your peoples .
Peace Out .
The ( Catholic ) Reverand L.C.A.B.
Written in Britain .
"..I know My Peoples hearin' me ...Holler if y'all need me ... Word ..."
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