A famous family-run Liverpool sports shop remembered across the generations was "the" place go for decades.
Jack Sharp is a name still recognisable to Liverpudlians, not only because of his performances as an outside-right at Everton FC, but through his eponymous sports shop in Whitechapel which opened in 1903. Before rival shops, commercial sports deals and online shopping, it was 'the' place - and at one time the only place - to buy sportswear and certain sports equipment in the city.
For generations, a trip to town wasn't complete without going to Jack Sharp to see what the latest sport trends were or to pick up essentials for your school P.E. kit. For many, it was the place you bought your first ever football boots or even teams for Subbuteo.
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There was also a small branch of the store located in Runcorn. Born in Hereford in 1878, Jack Sharp joined Everton from Aston Villa in 1899 - but the winger also had talent in another sporting field.
Also a cricketer, Sharp won three Test caps for his country and scored a century against Australia in 1909, before retiring in 1918. In the world of football, over 342 appearances in an Everton jersey earned him selection as the club's first Millennium Giant of the century.
According to the Everton FC website, in the days when a sports star's popularity was measured by the number of times his portrait appeared on cigarette cards, "Jack Sharp had 14 different cards created for him." In 1910, Sharp, who was by now captain of Everton, announced his retirement from playing football - but his name lived on in the city through his successful sport shop.
For many years, his business supplied the team kits for the Blues and the Reds, and other North West sides and when Liverpool reached the FA Cup final in 1914 his store supplied Liverpool's strip, as well as that of the opposition, Burnley. It was also the place to get the latest football boots, Liverpool and Everton kits, shin pads, goalie gloves and other football accessories for Christmas presents.
Do you remember visiting Jack Sharp on Whitechapel? Let us know in the comments section below.
A number of images, rediscovered from our archives, Mirrorpix, offer a glimpse into the store's past. One image, taken in 1948, shows a huge crowd queueing outside Jack Sharp's Whitechapel shop for tickets for the coming Saturday's Liverpool v Everton game.
It was previously reported how the queue started at 7am and grew until it stretched along Whitechapel, turned the corner into Richmond Street, bent back into Williamson Street and completed the rectangle by turning back into Whitechapel via Leigh Street. But its plate-glass shop window was smashed when fans pressed against it as they queued to buy tickets for the derby match. Hundreds of people were later turned away when the tickets ran out.
Other images, all captured in 1958, show a customer looking at tennis rackets inside the Jack Sharp sports store and the new frontage of the shop. You can also see the store on a bustling Whitechapel two days before Christmas.
If you grew up in the late 1960s or 1970s, you'll remember being given a list of items to buy for your secondary school uniform, which included heading to Jack Sharp for must-have sportswear. Parents would buy the likes of blue vests, plain blue football or rugby shirts, white plimsoles, hockey sticks and more that were needed for P.E. or after school sports clubs.
Youngsters of that time would be mesmerised by the store, where you could buy gear you'd seen worn by your sporting idols. From George Best's Stylo Matchmakers to Hummel white football boots worn by Everton's Alan Ball, most trips to town weren't complete without visiting Jack Sharp.
Many will remember downstairs selling the likes of dartboards or being the place you bought teams for Subbuteo, whereas upstairs had football boots, kits, corner flags, basketball nets and more on display. On December 31, 1975, a sale advert for the store in the Liverpool ECHO said customers could also but boy's Relum tracksuits and Avon sports shoes for £2.50, Umbro football jerseys from 75p and Power training shoes from £3.50.
Jack Sharp died in January 1938 at his Wavertree home - but his name continued to live on though his shop, which remained in the family, as well as his legacy with Everton. Once arguably the best sports store in Liverpool city centre for a number of decades, by the 1980s, it was bought by JJB.
On April 12, 1988, the Liverpool ECHO reported how it brought an end to an 85-year-long era for the family-run business, but that the name of the store would stay the same.
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At the time, Mr Oliver Sharp, chairman and joint managing director of Jack Sharp Ltd whose grandfather opened the shop in 1903, said: "We are all very sorry that an era has come to an end.
"But, it is very difficult for family-run businesses like ours to continue competing in the High Street these days, and JJB’s was a very fair offer. They have paid a substantial figure for the share capital of the company.
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"We are confident that the new owners will maintain the Jack Sharp reputation - and of course we are delighted and proud that they have told us they will keep our name over the Whitechapel doors." The site later become the 08 Place as part of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture year and today is a Trailfinders travel agents - but Jack Sharp's memory continues to live on in the city.
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