About

40 comments

1. Hello Kjell,

   What a brilliant website you have created. I am interested in the early decades of LFC, so to me it is like finding a treasure chest. Congratulations.

   Reply

2. Hi Jeff,
   Thanks for the kind words. We share the same interest. There has always been something mysterious about the early years. Keep looking in – I have more info between 1892 and 1897 than any other years to be added.

   Kjell

   Reply

3. Hi Kjell,
   Jeff Gaydish brought your website to my attention – what a wealth of information!
   I am interested in players from Newtown, Powys who played for Liverpool in the late 1800s and early 1900s – Richard ‘Dickie’ Morris, George Latham and Harry Beadles in particular.

   Reply

   1. Hi Ken,

      Thanks for the kind words, and welcome to the website. I believe you will find a few nice articles about Morris and Latham. If they are not on yet, I will publish them as soon as I can. I will also look for some info about Beadles.

      Interesting to see the Newtown, Powys connection. LFC played Newtown a few times in the first season, and about that friendly match in 1893 I received a copy of the match report from the library in Newtown.

      Regards,

      Kjell

      Reply

4. Hi Kjell

   First of all, along with others must congratulate you on a first class site.

   Was advised by Afs Veritas of AFS re the corrections for the Bury game in October 1915. I am an avid Reds supporter for 45 years with a Kop season ticket and try and maintain the Liverpool stats in AFS along with Afs Veritas. I add my thanks for the info.

   Picking up on that Bury game for the player’s mentioned, there will be other amendments to be made so over a period of time they will get done.

   Kind Regards

   Brian

   Reply

   1. Hi Brian,

      Thanks for the kind words! I have had all this information laying around for so long so needed to do something with it all. The site is still pretty much under construction. 1550 articles has been added, but I reckon when al is complete from my part it will be around 200 articles pr year, so in total between 15 and 20,000 articles. That is the aim.

      Regarding the line ups etc, feel free to look around and compare with other sources. I know there is a lot of different oppinion to who played on that day etc. At least we can add sources to the different line ups.

      Kjell

      Reply

5. Hi Kjell,

   Thanks for this great site. My grand-father Ernie Blenkinsop played for Liverpool in the 1930’s, and it’s provided some interesting new information for me as I research his life and career. Many thanks, Bob

   Reply

   1. Hi Bob,

      I am happy you found the website and information you were looking for. There is much more to be added in times ahead so keep checking back if new articles has been added about Ernie.

      Regards,

      Kjell

      Reply

   2. Dear Bob,

      Hopefully Kjell will forgive me for writing to you, although he knows me well as I too am a mad Red, a sizeable Liverpool football memorabilia collector and historian, and I also provide Kjell with a continuing stream of images from the photo library for use on his absolutely priceless website. The work he does astonishes me and needs supporting from as many avenues as can be done. In response to so many relatives like yourself contacting me about their famous forebears, I have recently started to a new business based on my photo library which is only 4 months old, hence the site is still a couple of weeks from full functionality and a good year or more from being anywhere near populated with the estimated 10,000 players of whom I have images I have pre WW1/WW2, it’s a massive undertaking. But I hope the website http://www.vintagefootballers.com and perhaps at this stage more particularly the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/vintagefootballers, which links to the Flickr sites and the work I have been doing for the families of Jock & Sep Rutherford, and for Liverpool’s Harry Lewis, might be of interest to you and to others of your cousins in Ernie Blenkinsop’s bloodline, I’m sure you know a goodly number. Obviously Ernie’s career with Sheffield Wednesday and England before Liverpool was particularly spectacular and I have collected many items in which he features over the years! More obscure players like Harry Lewis are still surprisingly well represented in my collection, to an extent it’s the relatives of players like Harry I expect will show more interest as for Ernie or Jock Rutherford (as an example I know well) there’s just a wealth of material as they were such stars in their day. Interestingly I got started with this exactly as I had 2 cousins buying a particular 1900 card of Scotland & Preston’s goalkeeper Peter McBride, both were great grandsons yet didn’t know each other! No doubt you can contact me if of interest and I’d be delighted to put together some images of Ernie on Flickr, of which I know I have plenty, and which I can have made into a variety of fun things.

      Best wishes

      James Cotton

      Reply

6. Hi Kjell,

   Good job.

   Gerald

   Reply

   1. Hi Gerald. Thanks for the nice words. I hope you find many interesting articles here!

      Kjell

      Reply

   2. This is my brother, Gerald Jensen, Kjell. He sees a little of Tom Watson in our brother Jack (John ) Jensen. 🙂
      Thank you for your good work.
      Sincerely,
      Mercy Jensen Michalski

      Reply

7. Hi Kjell

   Nice site. My great grandfather, Tommy Cunliffe, played for Liverpool between 1916-1917. In October 1917 he received a lifetime ban for betting on matches he played in (you’ve got an article about it on your blog). I’ve enjoyed reading the many match reports you have in which he played.
   If you or anyone else has any information about Tommy, I’d love to hear from you.
   Thanks again
   Ed

   Reply

   1. Hi Ed. Thanks for coming by my website. I will have to check my archive to see what else I have on Tommy, and I promise to come back to you as soon as possible.

      Regards,

      Kjell

      Reply

      1. Thanks Kjell. I appreciate your help and look forward to seeing anything you can find.

         Keep up the good work.

         Regards

         Ed

      2. Hi Kjell. I appreciate your help and look forward to seeing anything you can find on Tommy>

         Keep up the good work.

         Regards

         Ed

   2. Dear Ed,

      Hopefully Kjell will forgive me for writing to you, although he knows me well as I too am a mad Red, a sizeable Liverpool football memorabilia collector and historian, and I also provide Kjell with a continuing stream of images from the photo library for use on his absolutely priceless website. The work he does astonishes me and needs supporting from as many avenues as can be done. In response to so many relatives like yourself contacting me about their famous forebears, I have recently started to a new business based on my photo library which is only 4 months old, hence the site is still a couple of weeks from full functionality and a good year or more from being anywhere near populated with the estimated 10,000 players of whom I have images I have pre WW1/WW2, it’s a massive undertaking. But I hope the website http://www.vintagefootballers.com and perhaps at this stage more particularly the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/vintagefootballers, which links to the Flickr sites and the work I have been doing for the families of Jock & Sep Rutherford, and for Liverpool’s Harry Lewis, might be of interest to you and to others of your cousins in Tommy Cunliffe’s bloodline, I’m sure you know a goodly number. I worked with Kjell, Jeff Gaydish, Jim Donnelly and others on Tommy’s story when it was featured as a result of your enquiry on the Unofficial Liverpool FC Museum! More obscure players like Harry Lewis are still surprisingly well represented in my collection, to an extent it’s the relatives of players like Tommy or Harry I expect will show more interest as for say Jock Rutherford (as an example I know well) there’s just a wealth of material as they were such stars in their day. Interestingly I got started with this exactly as I had 2 cousins buying a particular 1900 card of Scotland & Preston’s goalkeeper Peter McBride, both were great grandsons yet didn’t know each other! No doubt you can contact me if of interest and I’d be delighted to try put together some images of Tommy on Flickr, of which I know I have plenty, and which I can have made into a variety of fun things.

      Best wishes

      James Cotton

      Reply

8. I am researching the history of LFC and have provided some information to Gudmundur Magnusson (LFC history website) and Graeme Riley (book author).
   I’ve read some interesting articles on your website and found thereupon some minor errors in the history books and websites regarding the war years. Would you agree with me, that there were two Ashcroft players in the 1916/17 season, the mentioned goalkeeper Jimmy and a young player from Little Sutton, the latter should have played as a forward two games in the principal tournament.
   In the same season Owen Williams played one game, but the Williams who played two games in season 1915/16 should be David “Dai” Williams.
   In season 1918/19 all the Miller games and goals should be credited to Jack Miller. His brother Tom was in the Army until December and also banned by the FA until summer 1919.
   If I’m right, we could report this information to Gudmundur.

   Best regards
   Torsten

   Reply

   1. Hi Torsten,

      Welcome to the website, and always good to know that there are a few of us with this passion for the club`s history. I have only completed the 1915-16 season on my own statistic sheet so can only for certain comment on that. Dai Williams is as I understand it correct.

      I know I have noted down Ashcroft with a question mark. I am still not 100% convinced the goalkeeper is the old one, but will keep you updated if I find any conclusive facts. I think you are correct with Jack Miller as well, but I have not gone through Echo yet so will wait and see what I can find there. Echo was usually good at presenting players that suddenly appeared a day or two before the matches during WW1.

      Also feel free to share with lfchistory.

      Regards,

      Kjell

      Reply

9. Hello Kjell,
   Great reading your website regarding the history of LFC. Nice to see the inclusion of my Grandfather Robert Waine. I have tried very hard to research him with LFC. Many years ago I heard many comments from people who saw him play, quoting his speed and trickery, and “could do anything with a football”, and most of all his size. He was only 5’3″ tall! He was known as Bobby Waine, the player who ran down the Anfield wing with his little legs and big heart. This was in a cutting from I think the Liverpool Echo, I remember the writer being Adam or Bob Lythgo. As a child I remember a scrap-book of photos and newspaper cuttings about him, but sadly this got mis-placed. There was a team photo in it that included him of a team that played in front of King George 5th. I can share a few stories about him if your interested. He never missed a cup final I played in when I was in my early 20’s. Always gave me help and advice. I wish I was as good as him!!
   Keep up the good work
   Best regards
   Jeff

   Reply

   1. Hi Jeff,

      Thanks for the kind words and welcome to this football blog. I would love to hear histories you have of Bobby, and also please tell some about yourself as well. Unfortunately I do not have any images of Bobby. If you have one I would love to add it to one of the stories I have with him.

      Best regards,

      Kjell

      Reply

      1. Hi Kjell,
         Thank you for your response. I am at the moment trying to research my Grandfathers footballing career, mainly to share with my children and grandchildren. For info I am 66 years old and as I said earlier my Grandfather never missed watching me in cup finals I played in. I played for a local team in Prescot/Whiston who played in an amateur Liverpool League. A couple of stories my grandfather told me was he remembered playing in a match watched by 70,000 plus crowd (Unrecorded) I am not sure whether this was the match watched by King George the 5th or not. I believe the King did travel to watch football matches at Manchester City around this time. I mentioned this to the LFC guide when visiting the club tour last year. He said that there was a match played around this time with a huge crowd but that was at Maine Road Manchester and not Anfield. Whether it was a exhibition match or competitive match I don’t know. What my grandfather did say was that the terracing collapsed and many supporters suffered broken limbs and were tended to on the touchline while the match carried on. I’m sure he wouldn’t have made that up, so more research is required on this one.
         I posted a reply regarding Pivate Robert Waine, I’m sure there may have been a mix up there. Please see my reply. Applolgies to all if I am wrong.
         Another story my Grandfather told me was how his career ended with Liverpool, again how accurate this is I don’t know, I wish I had taken more notice of the stories at the time.I believe when the football league was postponed during the first world war, teams from the north formed a Northern League I think called the Northern Merit League and teams from the South formed a league called the Southern Merit League. Liverpool played Tottenham at Anfield whether this was a “final” or not I don’t know. Tottenham were winning 1-0, Tottenham had a corner, the ball was cleared to my Grandfather who went the full length of the pitch, centred the ball and the Centre forward headed the equaliser!! Roy of the Rovers Stuff!! Unfotunately on centering the ball my granfather went down and couldn’t get up – both knees suffered Cartlidge damage. That was the end of that!! Again, obviously more research required on this story.
         I don’t know much else about his playing career apart from he said he went to Port Vale. Records show a R Waine playing one game in 1918 for them.
         In 1926 he emigrated to the USA with his wife and 3 sons. His wife (my Grandma) came from a farming family and my dad always told me they lived on a ranch in Pasadena Calafornia and Grandad used to train “Soccer” to the American children. This is what I am researching now. In the Census of Los Angelus of 1930 shows the family to be living in an apartment block with my grandfathers occupation as a farmer. I can’t see that but am waiting for a request for information from a Pasadena historian. If he replies I will let you know.
         Due to the recession of the 1930’s the family returned home to Thatto Heath St Helens.
         Grandad did have a roll as a Scout for New Brighton FC, then working in a Cable factory in Prescot Nr Liverpool until his retirement.
         The only photo I have of him was at my wedding in 1968 when he was 74. I will try and post it via email to you, The medal on his chain was a gold medal won with liverpool, sadly missing but from memory was a runners up medal,it may be of interest to you to see the photo then you can see how tall he really was. On his left is Grandma who was only 5′ 6″
         Hence, running down the Anfield wing with his little legs and big heart.
         Happy researching
         All the best
         Jeff

      2. Hi Jeff,

         I will need some time to check upon the stories. I don’t think Liverpool played Tottenham during WW1. It was restrictions in terms of how far a club could travel. You are correct about the King George and Manchester City. I will see if I can find any match linking Robert to such an event.

         Before making his debut for Liverpool in December, 1915 – Robert played for a club named St. Helens Alexandra. He played 5 League gamaes and 2 friendly matches I believe that season. During the 1916/17 season he only played 1 match for Liverpool, and the reason for this was that he played matches for a team called “South Liverpool.” Now, South Liverpool acted almost as a feeder club for Liverpool, and since no player could be professional during the war, amateur status reigning, a player could play for which ever team he wanted.

         In 1917/18 Robert was back with Liverpool and played 28 matches.

         I have also seen articles about Robert participating in sprinting, and he he could run 70 yards in 7 seconds.

         I will keep you posted on new findings.

         By the way, there is a note in Liverpool Echo for November 3, 1916 about a Waine family were two brothers had been killed in action. Their names being: Herbert Waine (19 years) and Thomas Waine (36 years old). Thomas was killed earlier in the war. They were sons of Mr. and Mrs. Waine, living in 34, Noel Street. Do you know if they were related to Robert?

      3. Hi Kjell, Many thanks for your extremely valuable information on my Grandad. It is appreciated so much. South Liverpool FC now play in the West Cheshire League. The interesting thing about them it was disbanded in 1921 then merged with New Brighton FC in the same year. So Grandad and Robert Junior still had ties with both clubs. My son has just found a photo of King George V being introduced to players in Circa 1920 at Hyde Road  Manchester City’s ground prior to Maine Road, the crowd looks enormous.  The match was Manchester City v Liverpool. Unfortunately Bobby Waine is not one of the players in view. I will send the photo on. Maybe this could be the match my grandfather talked about, but it is likely to be a later match. We have researched the two brothers and they seem to be no relation to Robert, but could have been a distant relative. The family originated from Manchester then moved to Noel street Toxteth Liverpool. Grandfathers family have always been associated with St. Helens. Best regards Jeff

10. Hi Jeff

    Have you seen this website, which outlines a player called Waine’s appearances with Liverpool:

    http://www.11v11.com/players/waine-236919/

    Small world. My great grandfather Tommy Cunliffe played for the ‘pool between 1916-17.

    Regards

    Ed

    Reply

11. Hi Ed and Jeff,

    I have put together an excel sheet for all the matches Liverpool played during the 1915/16 season. I will have similar excel sheets for all seasons in the future, but this one is the first I have focused on. All statistics etc are from match reports from local newspapers, and some of the names of the players are more correct than from older books etc. This excel sheet contain even half time scores, what minute the goals were scored in and they name of the referee for each match.. I can send you both a copy of this excel sheet, if you want.

    Drop me an email on “kjellhanssen@hotmail.com” and I will reply as fast as I can with a copy..

    Regards,

    Kjell

    Reply

12. Hi Kjell,
    If you have a copy of the above book, Liverpool a complete record 1892-1986 by Brian Pead, it gives you team sheets of every game played, shirt numbers, times of goals, scorers and attendances, attendance 28,000 v Everton 1917-18!! If you have not got the book, I will try and get one for you. Please let me know.
    Best regards
    Jeff

    Reply

    1. Hi Jeff,

       Thanks for the kind offer. It is already in my book collection, but I have found so many errors in it that I simply do not trust it, specially the years up until 1939.

       By the way, when finding the first articles about Robert Waine more than a year ago I posted some questions for help about him in a football forum. I just found that posting again now. If you want to have a look, it is at, http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/soccerdatauk/message/1301

       In regards to books about Liverpool I believe that a book called “Red men” by John William is the best together with the new “A complete record” by the guys behind lfchistory.net – http://www.lfchistory.net/Articles/Article/3216 that came out last year. Also there is a new series out now called “Liverpool Match by match” which is my kind of book, http://www.soccer.mistral.co.uk/books/liv2.htm.

       The problems with football books, specially those that contain statistics is that more recent books blindly copies the information in older books. Take for example Jack Waine, and he is not the only one. I have most likely found a match in 1894 where the wrong goalkeeper is in the line up, and the poor lad, who probably played, has never got his solitary game in LFC history.

       Regards and a Happy Easter,

       Kjell

       Reply

13. Hi Kjell,
    Many thanks for the links, I find them facinating. I am so disappointed my grandfathers scrap book went missing. I’m sure there would have been lot of interesting items/players names in it of interest to you. But you are doing a fantastic job. Keep up the good work! I am still trying to find out if the stories were true about my grandfather having a soccer training job in California around 1926-32. Not having much success though.
    Take care
    Happy Easter
    Jeff

    Reply

    1. Great stuff, Jeff. Your family history has added a new dimension to my research into New Brighton FC and South Liverpool FC. As you can imagine, it is a contentious area. I thank you for your time and I wish you success in your own research.

       Reply

14. Hi, Kjell.

    The photo of ‘Fred Geary’ in the quiz is actully a shot of Edgar Chadwick.

    All the best,

    Cris freddi

    Reply

    1. Hi Cris,

       Welcome to the website, and thanks for correcting me on that one. They absolutely do not look the same so bad on me.

       Regards,

       kjell

       Reply

       1. Not a ‘bad’ mistake at all, Kjell. You should see some of the errors I’ve made!

          Great website, of course.

          All the best,

          Cris

15. Hi, Kjell. I’m just writing to say thanks for posting this info re LFC. Great stuff, and I’m sure it keeps you very busy. It’s also good to see the collaboration between you and Everton FC’s equivalent, Billy Smith. Rivalry does not equate to enmity in my book, and I have many good friends who support different clubs – even Manchester United!

    This is of course the 50th anniversary of Liverpool’s first league title under Bill Shankly in 1963-64, a season I remember so well – I was 20 at the time. That season I went to all the home games at both Anfield and Goodison, and there were so many really memorable games, not least the final home game at Anfield, when we beat Arsenal 5-0 and Tommy Lawrence saved a penalty.

    I was in the Kop, and one bright spark managed to shin up one of the pillars supporting the roof. He then edged out along the girders below the roof to the front, straddling one for a grandstand if perilous view of the game, and stayed there for the whole match despite repeated (futile) orders to come down from the police sergeant on duty down below. He never fell off, despite vigorous celebration of each goal and incident. Afterwards, sets of downward-pointing iron spikes were welded onto the pillars to prevent a repeat!

    This of course is just one of so many memories I have from those times. Great days, great players, great fun.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jack,

       Thank you for the very kind words, and I am also happy you have noticed how Billy and myself share information and help each other with findings.

       I feel really good reading your post, and how you describe your memories. Unfortunately I have no recollection of Shankly myself – I was born in 1968, and barely remember seeing my first football match live on TV a Saturday afternoon in the mid-1970s. I think Liverpool beat Middlesbrough 1-0.

       I grew up in the 1980s and what a time with both the Reds and the Blues on top. Thinking back I can never remember having any grudge at Everton either. I like good football and when a team plays good football I respect them. And, all clubs are special, they all have a soul, some just have more trophies.

       Not sure if you know, but I am from Norway (shocker you might say), but moved to the UK almost 15 years ago. I thought I would be at Anfield and in Liverpool every other week when I moved over, but soon enough found out that living in London and constant travelling was not for me. I wish I could go up and visit the city more often. I find peace when I am there. But it is probably good for my better half that I do not loose track of the time.

       Football today compared to football yesterday is no match in my eyes. When someone invents a time machine and needs a volunteer I will try to be first in line. What I find most fascinating is to actually understand how football has developed as the years has gone by. Imagine being at Anfield or Goodison in the mid or late 1890s? How colourful would the black and white sketches be, what would the smell be like outside the grounds, could you smell the woodwork from the stands?

       I hope that one day the interest for our clubs’ history will be more popular and reach more people. But it is different times today. Go back to the mid 1980s in Norway and ask 10 kids on the street which team was their favourite team and I bet you 8 or 9 would pick an English team. Do the same today and you are lucky if 3 of them points to Man Utd or Chelsea. Hardly anyone knows what happened before 1980.

       And, I must ask you if you are related to the Jack Kirwan who played for Everton, Tottenham and Chelsea 100 years ago?

       Hope to hear more from you Jack.

       Kjell

       Reply

16. Kjell

    I have recently found your site and would like to compliment you on its superb information.

    My mother’s mother’s father was Thomas Parry, a Welsh international footballer in the early 20th century. One of our most prized possessions is one of his Welsh caps, beautiful green velvet with a tassel on the top.

    His brother was Maurice Parry who played 229 games for LFC between 1900 and 1909. I have seen some information on other websites, but your’s is the only one with the original press cuttings which are fascinating.

    He was obviously a bit of a character, an organ playing teetotaller who was nearly 13 stone when playing and could obviously tackle.

    After his football career, at the age of 38 Maurice joined the army (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) and fought in the Dardenelles in the first World War, being wounded in 1916 and possibly gassed in that campaign.

    I am very grateful for your efforts to produce such a fine website

    Reply

    1. Hi there. Thank you for visiting my blog and thank you for the kind words. Over the last three years I have received many comments from relatives of former Liverpool players. It is a great joy to read them all, and I am so happy you found articles that will help you get to know Maurice better.

       I know that just after he signed for Liverpool there were different versions of his name on print in newspapers and match programmes. He was not just Maurice Parry – he was also Morris Parry and Morris Barry.

       I believe a friend of mine have a lot of old images of Maurice as a footballer. If you have time please check out his webpage on “www.vintagefootballers.com”. And you are always welcome back to this blog. Check in every now and then because I add quite a lot of new articles every day and some of them will of course include notes about Maurice.

       Best regards,

       Kjell

       Reply

    2. Hopefully Kjell will forgive me for writing to you, although he knows me well as I too am a mad Red, a sizeable Liverpool football memorabilia collector and historian, and I also provide Kjell with a continuing stream of images from the photo library for use on his absolutely priceless website. The work he does astonishes me and needs supporting from as many avenues as can be done. In response to so many relatives like yourself contacting me about their famous forebears, I have recently started to a new business based on my photo library which is only 4 months old, hence the site is still a couple of weeks from full functionality and a good year or more from being anywhere near populated with the estimated 10,000 players of whom I have images I have pre WW1/WW2, it’s a massive undertaking. But I hope the website http://www.vintagefootballers.com and perhaps at this stage more particularly the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/vintagefootballers, which links to the Flickr sites and the work I have been doing for the families of Jock & Sep Rutherford, and for Liverpool’s Harry Lewis, might be of interest to you and to others of your cousins in the Parry bloodline, I’m sure you know a goodly number. Obviously Maurice’s career with Liverpool was lengthy and highly successful and I know I have many items of interest. I need to look up Tom too and then I’m sure I’ll find my way to images. Interestingly I got started with this exactly as I had 2 cousins buying a particular 1900 card of Scotland & Preston’s goalkeeper Peter McBride, both were great grandsons yet didn’t know each other! No doubt you can contact me if of interest and I’d be delighted to put together some images of both players on Flickr, of which I know I have plenty for Maurice, and which I can have made into a variety of fun things.

       Best wishes

       James Cotton

       Reply

17. Kjell

    This is an excellent resource and you should be congratulated on such a thorough piece of research.

    I am in the process of researching the history of football in the Prescot and Whiston areas and your site has proved to be invaluable, so far, in picking up snippets about players from these clubs and other details of matches.

    well done, and thanks again!

    If I ever finish and go for publication, I will be sure to give you a credit!

    Regards

    Roy McDonald

    Reply

    1. Hi Roy,

       Thanks for the kinds words and I am happy you can find something for your research here. I will keep a special look out for football items for Prescot and Whiston and will let you know when I add more articles.

       Please let me know when you publish your book. I would love to buy a copy from you.

       Best regards,

       Kjell

       Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.