On the day that Charles III was proclaimed at St James’s Palace, it’s worth remembering that Goodison Park holds a special double distinction when it comes to previous kings. Not only did Everton’s home become the first football ground attended by a reigning monarch, but its record crowd was also for a royal visit.
Departing Anfield in 1892 after a rent dispute with landlord John Houlding – who would subsequently form Liverpool FC to fill the void at his empty venue – Everton constructed Goodison Park as England’s first purpose-built football ground. Early observers couldn’t help but be impressed and when it opened, a writer for the publication Out of Doors enthused: “Behold Goodison Park! No single picture could take in the entire scene the ground presents, it is so magnificently large, for it rivals the greater American baseball pitches.
“On three sides of the field of play there are tall covered stands, and on the fourth side the ground has been so well banked up with thousands of loads of cinders that a complete view of the game can be had from any portion. It appears to be one of the finest and most complete grounds in the kingdom, and it is hoped that the public will liberally support the promoters.”
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Indeed, less than two years on, Goodison became the first club ground to host an FA Cup final as up until that point, the Oval in Kennington, south London, home of Surrey Cricket Club, had been the regular venue, hosting all but one of the finals up until 1892 with the sole deviation being the use of the Lillie Bridge ground in Fulham for the 1873 final, while the 1886 final replay took place at the Racecourse Ground in Derby, home of Derbyshire Cricket Club. Everton themselves lost 1-0 to Wolverhampton Wanderers in their first FA Cup final in 1893 which took place at the Fallowfield athletics stadium in Manchester, but had the honour of staging the game the following year as Notts County defeated Bolton Wanderers 4-1 in front of a 37,000 crowd on March 31, 1894.
The year after the FA Cup final came to Merseyside, the showpiece match returned to south London on a regular basis, now at Crystal Palace, and that is where the Blues lifted the trophy for the first time in 1906 when they defeated Newcastle United 1-0, some 60 years before the Reds’ first triumph in the competition. Then in 1910, following a 1-1 draw in the capital, Newcastle United defeated Barnsley 2-0 in a replay at Goodison on April 28.
A monster 69,000 crowd crammed in – Everton’s record attendance at the time was 52,455 for an FA Cup third round tie with Bolton Wanderers in 1907 – and the local police had to deal with the drama of a large pre-match pitch invasion which had threatened to put the game in jeopardy. The London Daily News stated: “Rain had fallen in Liverpool throughout the morning, and it was still pelting down when the crowd began to collect around the enclosure at one o’clock.
“Excursionists had packed into the city from all parts of the country, including trainloads from London, and a full hour before the time for the kick-off the ground was so densely packed that thousands of people broke the bounds of the cordon of police and stewards and swarmed over the playing pitch. The disorder had become so alarming before three o’clock that it appeared impossible for the game to be played, but a dozen mounted police were hastily summoned and they rendered such invaluable service that in half an hour the thousands of people who had scaled the low palings had been forced back into the enclosures.”
The Liverpool Courier and Commercial Advertiser pointed out that despite the issues with the assembled hordes, the city had proven to be a worthy host, pointing out that the crowd was a record for any game outside of London or Glasgow and reported: “At Goodison Park every person who entered the gates could follow the progress of play without much difficulty. The remarkable figures suggest the enormous holding capacity of the magnificent enclosure of the Everton club.”
Regarding the pre-match pitch invasion, they noted: “Matters looked ugly, and there were visions of interference with the game. The timely appearance of a detachment of mounted police worked wonders.
“Assisted by their comrades on foot and by officials of the club, the too impulsive spectators were quietly, but none the less firmly compelled to retire behind the barriers, so much so that when the players appeared on the field there was not the slightest sign of encroachment on the part of the crowd.”
Perhaps the handling of such a major event stood Everton in good stead because three years later on July 11, 1913, Goodison became the first English football ground to be visited by a reigning monarch when King George V and his wife Queen Mary – whose statues mark the Liverpool entrance to the Queensway Tunnel underneath the Mersey to Birkenhead after they opened it in 1934 – both attended the Blues’ home.
This trip - a short clip of which can be viewed here - was combined with the royal couple opening the Gladstone Dock, the biggest in the world at the time, in Bootle, after which they were driven to Everton’s home and writing in his Jubilee History of the Everton Football Club 1878-1928, Thomas Keates recalled: “The arena was a riot of colour and animated charm; 1,920 elementary school children, prettily attired, sang the National Anthem as the Royal party drove round the ground, escorted by a squadron of King Edward’s Horse.
“Ascending a platform, the Royal party witnessed a musical drill, physical exercises (executed with artistic precision) and a detachment finally formed a living model of a Union Jack. The King and Queen seemed to find the display a restful delight after an exhausting day.
“The enthusiastic cheering everywhere, added to the plethora of ceremonial and speech making at every stoppage, must have made the day an unusually tiring one. Goodison Park really seemed to be a restorative.”
Almost 25 years later, on May 19, 1938, King George V’s son, King George VI, and his wife Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother who as Duchess of York had presented the FA Cup to Everton captain Dixie Dean in 1933, and when told by Lord Derby who the player was, is reported to have replied: “Even I know Dean!”) were at Goodison Park. Their visit was to present the new colours to the Liverpool-based 5th Battalion the King’s Regiment and the Liverpool Scottish (Queens Own Cameron Highlanders) and there was an estimated 80,000 people inside Goodison for the military parade, which if accurate would be an even greater attendance than Everton’s biggest gate of 78,299 against Liverpool on September 18, 1948.
A report in the ECHO captured the excitement on the streets from the people of Merseyside for the royal visit, stating: “Tumultuous scenes were witnessed when the King and Queen departed from the Town Hall for the Everton football ground. Thousands of voices took up the cry ‘we want the King! We want the Queen!' followed by more cheers.
“The route to the football ground (Dale Street, Byrom Street, Scotland Road, Kirkdale Road, Everton Valley, Walton Lane, Goodison Road) was lined with cheering crowds. One of the best views of the procession was obtained by a gang of workmen engaged on a house chimney in Kirkdale Road, who used the scaffolding as a grandstand.”
In the week that we lost the 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning sovereign after a span of over 70 years on the throne, it is perhaps poignant for Evertonians to reflect that while she represented a sense of continuity, nothing lasts forever and it won’t be long now until their own ‘Grand Old Lady’ is no more. Like her late majesty though, Goodison Park has witnessed many historic events – in football terms at least – over an even greater period stretching back 130 years to the time of our previous Queen, Victoria, and she’ll be greatly missed once she’s gone when the Blues move to their new waterside stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
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