Spurs - Once Upon a time no 10, Everton at home

By Dave P
October 15 2005

I was hunting through the records for early meetings between the two clubs and the earliest record I can find is of a friendly played at our ground on 22nd April 1897 with us winning 2-1. However another source gives our game on that day as being an away Friendly against London Caledonians so I am not sure which is right. It is possible that both are as some of the early records can be a bit confused.

Before we played them competitively in League football the two team did meet on a number of occasions inclusing two FA Cup 1st round ties. On 6th February 1904 we travelled to Goodison Park and won 2-1 with a Vivian Woodward goal and a Balmer Own goal. 25,000 supporters watched that game. Four years later in January 1908 we again travelled to Goodison for a 1st Round Cup tie only this time we were beaten by a single goal. Between these two fixtures we met in two friendlies, Both in May 1905 and Both on the continent of Europe.On the 7th May we met in Vienna and we lost the game 2-0 and on the 16th May we played them in Budapest losing 1-0. The full itinery of that tour of Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia was as follows.

4th May - Hohan Warta, 6-0 to Spurs
7th May - Everton, 2-0 to Everton
10th May - Vienna Athletic Club, 4-1 to Spurs
12-May - BudaPesth Thorna,7-1 to Spurs
14th May - Testgyakorborora, 12-1 to Spurs
16th May - Everton, 1-0 to Everton
21st May – Slavia Prague, 8-1 to Spurs

Four years later in June 1909 the two clus played each other abroad twice yet again in an end of season tour. This time it was further afield, Argentina and Uruguay in fact. This was the famous trip on which we won a parrot, a story I have told before and rumoured to be where the expression sick as a parrot comes from, I will re-tell the story one day for anyone that has forgotten not heard it. Anyway, The story of that tour was as follows;

5th June – Everton, 2-2 (Walter Tull scored one of the Spurs Goals)
10th June – Uruguay League, An 8-0 win for Tottenham
13th June – Argentinos, We won that one 1-0
16th June – Liga Argentina and a 4-1 victory for the Spurs
19th June – Everton and a 4-0 defeat.
20th June – Rosario and a 9-0 win
24th June – Alumini and a 5-0 win.

I have also seen a 7-0 win over Montevideo recorded on the same tour but I do not have a date for that game.

These tours were often organised as a package to promote the game and usually involve a couple of clubs travelling together to some far off land to play local opposition and put on a couple of exhibition matches.

An early league encounter between Everton and Spurs in April 1924 led to a change in the Laws of Association Football. In that match at White Hart Lane on April 12th Evertons right winger Sam Chedgzoy took advantage of the fact that a corner taker could play the ball more than once without it touching another player. He dribbled the ball along the goal line after taking the corner and SCORED. The law was amended almost immediately following this incident.

Just time for a quick mention of a player who featured for both clubs and this week it’s the turn of a defender, Ted Hughes. A short player but reknowned for his heading ability and his willingness to have a shot should the opportunity arise and indeed scoring on a number of occasions. Born in Ruabon, Clwyd in 1876 he played for Liverpool side Formby before turning professional for Everton in 1896. In 1899 he was signed for Tottenham by our manager of the time, John Cameron (who himself was a former Everton player). In his time here he played 318 times for the first team including 30 FA Cup appearances. This of course included a Cup Winners medal in the triumphant 1901 side. He won two international caps (for Wales) whilst at Everton and a further twelve in his time with us before moving to Clyde in 1908. After his retirement in 1910 he emigrated to Springfield, Massachusetts later returning to England. He died in Tottenham in 1936.