Tranmere

Everton’s Forgotten Prodigy

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The word “wonderkid” has been bandied about a lot in football nowadays. Any young player having one or two good games has been described as one. Although, it did used to mean something. In Everton’s case, some prodigies ended up having great careers, such as Dixie Dean, Joe Royle and Wayne Rooney. Some, however, didn’t meet their expectations, such as Michael Branch, Francis Jeffers and Jose Baxter. But one prodigy in particular has been completely forgotten about. A wartime wonderkid who was compared to Everton legend Torry Gillick – Billy Lowe.

Billy Lowe joined Everton from Haydock C&B in 1943. Around that time, Everton and Haydock had an alliance and several Haydock players joined the Blues, including Eric Moore, who went on to play 184 games for the club. After joining, Lowe played a few games for the reserves, and he already impressed Theo Kelly. Kelly then awarded him a chance to impress for the first team, making his debut against Tranmere on 10th April 1943 at the age of just 16.

This match doubled as a wartime league match and a Liverpool Senior Cup semi-final. Lowe wasn’t the only youngster in the game; Tranmere had a 16-year-old called Evans and a 15-year-old called Newton. Lowe was in esteemed company, playing alongside Norman Greenhalgh, Alex Stevenson and Tommy Lawton. Everton beat their Wirral rivals 4-1 with two goals from Lawton, one from Stevenson and one from George Mutch, who was a guest player from Preston. Not a lot was said about Lowe – the Liverpool Evening Express complimented his corner-taking (“Lowe utilised two corners accurately…”) but the Liverpool Daily Post gave him a lot of approval, saying, “though he had obviously much to learn, [Lowe] made a quite promising debut.”

Lowe made his second appearance for the club against the same opposition three weeks later. However, he failed to make as much of an impression as he made on his debut, largely due to being unable to get past experienced left-back and guest player from Leeds, Jack Milburn – the uncle of Bobby and Jack Charlton and also a cousin of Jackie Milburn. That was his last first-team appearance of the season and had played some games for the reserves before returning to the first team in October for a match against Wrexham. Everton won 3-1, thanks to a hat-trick from Tommy Lawton. Lowe was reported to have made a good impression despite having little of the ball and contributed to Everton’s third goal. Lowe crossed the ball into the box and Wrexham goalkeeper Dave Whitelaw claimed it. But as soon as he caught the ball, Lawton was running straight at him. This prompted Whitelaw to walk backwards onto the goalline but he was in quite a predicament as Lawton subsequently charged into him, causing Whitelaw to fall and the ball, and Whitelaw, went into the goal.

Lowe played against Wrexham again the following week. Everton were the victors again, winning 4-2. A 14-minute first-half hat-trick from Cecil Wyles and a goal from Stan Bentham earned Everton the win. Lowe received a lot of acclaim from the local press for his performance. The Liverpool Daily Post said Lowe “gave an excellent display” and the Liverpool Echo also praised his performance, saying, “he has got speed and ball control and can shoot but needs to vary his style occasionally and take the ball through on the inside of the defender.” Early promise for Billy Lowe and it appeared that Everton had a bright player in the making. However, in the next game, Lowe’s career took a dark turn.

On 6th November 1943, Billy Lowe made his fifth appearance for Everton against the team he made his first and second – Tranmere. The match got off to an electric start in Everton’s favour. Everton nearly took the lead in the first minute after Lowe passed the ball to Lawton, only for the forward to hit the side-netting. Lawton made amends for his miss almost immediately after, heading a Jimmy McIntosh cross past goalkeeper Threlfall. Everton then made it 2-0 through another Lawton goal – Sam Jones, a guest player from Blackpool, gave the ball to Lawton and he coolly slotted it past Threlfall with his right foot. Everton could have had another two goals with the game still in its early stages, both shots coming from Billy Lowe crosses. However, neither of them threatened Threlfall. But Everton did score their third goal eventually after half an hour, with Tommy Lawton completing his hat-trick in style. With the ball at his feet, Lawton thunderously struck the ball from outside the penalty area and into the back of the net, leaving Threlfall no chance. Tranmere had a goal back before half-time and at the interval, Everton led 3-1. Four minutes into the second half, Lawton turned provider as he passed to Alex Stevenson and Stevenson converted to regain Everton’s three-goal cushion. Everton had a fifth just a couple of minutes later with another header from a Jimmy McIntosh cross – this time Stan Bentham doing the honours. Just after the hour mark, Everton hit six with Lawton scoring his fourth of the game. The Blues were running riot but the joy soon dissipated on the 64th minute.

Following a great game from the youngster, Billy Lowe was on the receiving end of a tackle and suffered a broken leg. He was soon whisked off to Walton Hospital. The Liverpool Evening Express said Lowe, as well as Stevenson, “got the Tranmere defence tied up in knots.” Everton eventually beat Tranmere 9-2, with Lawton, Bentham and McIntosh scoring the remaining goals. But the demolition meant little compared to Billy Lowe’s devastating injury.

Lowe, up to the time of his unfortunate accident, was well up to the standard of his colleagues. In fact, I should say this 17-year-old boy is the best outside right Everton have had since the days of [Torry] Gillick.

Liverpool Daily Post

The Everton attack has not played better for an age, and the unfortunate Lowe, who was takes to hospital with a broken leg, was well up to the form of his partners. He filled the outside position better than any since Torry Gillick.

Liverpool Echo

The one sad note was the accident to young Billy Lowe after an hour which brought a fracture of a leg just above the ankle and Lowe removal to Walton Hospital. The irony of it was that Lowe had been demonstrating that he is Everton’s best right wing find of the war. Lowe was thriving on the support and advice of Stevenson – in his merriest vein – Bentham and [Jackie] Grant. Lowe has a broken tibia and fibula.

Liverpool Evening Express

A couple of days after his injury, Tommy Lawton, Theo Kelly and Harry Cooke visited Lowe in hospital.

As he lay bedridden, Everton fans and players alike, and the press as well, were hoping Lowe makes a swift recovery. He left the hospital temporarily a month later, accepting an invite to watch England play Scotland at Goodison Park, arriving at Goodison for the first time since his injury. Lowe watched his teammates Tommy Lawton and Cliff Britton play on their home turf with Lawton scoring in a 2-2 draw. During the game, Lowe earned a hospital-mate as Wolves legend Stan Cullis suffered an injury and stayed at Walton Hospital. This wasn’t for long as Lowe left the hospital as an outpatient with his leg still in a plaster. The matron said Lowe and Cullis were “exceptionally popular” during their stay in hospital.

On New Year’s Day 1944, Billy Lowe arrived at Goodison Park for the first time as an Everton spectator since his injury as the Blues thrashed Chester 7-0. The Liverpool Evening Express said he was “walking with a stick and going along nicely.” Some positive news for Everton as a return on the pitch could be close. The club struggled to find an outside-right to replace Lowe while he was injured until that game. That player was the exquisitely-named Cuthbert Tatters. Tatters was a 23-year-old Geordie amateur player from the Royal Air Force who previously had spells with Spennymoor United and Durham City. He was brought to the club after TG Jones recommended him as a back-up. Billy Lowe watched his replacement make an immediate impression. He created a few chances in the game, assisting Jack Boothway (who was a guest player from Manchester City) to make it 6-0 and almost scored from a volley but was denied by Chester goalkeeper George Scales (another guest player from Manchester City). However, his time at the club was very brief as three weeks later, in only his second appearance for the Blues in their 4-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield, he fractured his ankle. He reportedly played with a broken ankle for an hour, leaving the pitch twice before returning both times, but his bravery proved costly as he never played for the Blues again and his Everton career was in… well, tatters.

Billy Lowe, on the other hand, looked like he was making a lot of progress as at the end of January 1944, nearly four months after his injury, he had his plaster taken off and was about to receive massage treatment for his leg in hope that it would make him fit for the following season. Unfortunately, several weeks later, Lowe had a setback as it appeared the massage treatment as successful as it was hoped to be and his leg was put back in a plaster. During the summer, it looked like a return was beckoning as Lowe began light training. He was still brittle and a long way away from a full recovery, but early signs were promising.

The following November, almost exactly a year since his injury, he had further treatment on his leg, and the more treatment he had, the sooner he recovered as he was named in a line-up (at least those that were reported by the papers) for the first time in 14 months, appearing for the Everton Colts against Wigan Mining College. He gradually rose through the ranks, playing several games for the reserves, as well as scoring a goal in their 7-1 win over Fazackerley in the George Mahon Cup. The reserve games appeared to do Lowe the world of good as the Liverpool Evening Express said he was “absolutely fit again.”

At the start of the 1945/46 season, on August 29th, Billy Lowe’s long-awaited first-team comeback finally arrived. Everton played Bury at Gigg Lane and were leading 3-2. Everton scored four goals in the game – Jack Boothway twice and George Makin at the right end whereas Matt McDonnell scored at the wrong end. However, the game was abandoned after 75 minutes due to bad light. Lowe appeared to have made a promising comeback, with the Liverpool Evening Express saying, “Lowe did well with his few chances – encouraging this.” As if making a first-team comeback wasn’t good news enough for Lowe, he had even better news nearly a couple of weeks later as he signed a professional contract with Everton, indicating that the club wanted to keep him for the long haul.

Lowe’s first game as a professional was against Preston on September 15th, just a few days after he became a professional. The score was a 1-1 draw, with Cecil Wyles scoring a penalty for Everton. Lowe’s appearance was due to Torry Gillick not arriving back to Liverpool from Glasgow in time for the game. He had a chance to break the deadlock early on but Preston goalkeeper Jack Fairbrother tipped his shot over the bar. When Everton were 1-0 down, Lowe had a bout of nerves as the Liverpool Football Echo said he “too long making up his mind whether to shoot or centre, and was finally crowded out.” His nerviness and indecisiveness stopped Everton from getting back into the game but his lapse in judgement was spared when Wyles converted his penalty for a foul on Wally Boyes. Lowe had another chance to score and give Everton the lead but he headed a Boyes cross wide. He then could have had a hat-trick after a pass from Stan Bentham provided him the opportunity to shoot and hit it in the back of the net, but his shot hit the crossbar instead. The Liverpool Daily Post said Lowe “did quite well and will do better when he gets his centres over more strongly.” Another fairly promising performance from Lowe. But the promise didn’t last long.

Lowe played for the first-team again in the 2-0 defeat to Leeds the following week. The Liverpool Daily Post said he “showed that on the score of physique and experience, he is not yet ripe for first team inclusion but he has good football in him,” implying that reserve football would be better for him as he didn’t appear to overcome his injury yet. The club agreed and he played in Everton reserves’ 5-1 defeat to Aston Villa reserves, but the Liverpool Daily Post called him “very reliable.”

Billy Lowe returned to the first team for their match against Manchester United on October 6th. The Blues travelled to Maine Road (due to Old Trafford being bombed) and went back home with a 0-0 draw, with the Liverpool Daily Post pointing the finger at Lowe for not giving Everton the win.

Had Lowe taken more care with the opportunities created by Lawton in the first half, they might have won. As it was his finishing was weak, and few further chances came his or his colleagues’ way.

The Liverpool Echo pointed the finger in the same direction:

Lowe, well and truly piled with taxable passes, failed to take advantage and having had his chances, the Manchester defence saw to it that such chances were never on offer again.

That game against Manchester United was Lowe’s last ever game for Everton. He returned to the reserves and played some games for the ‘A’ team as well before being placed on the transfer list in April 1946. There are no known reports on whether he joined a new club, so it is very likely that he might have retired at the end of the season.

A wonderkid compared to Torry Gillick who was denied an excellent career due to a horrific injury. Despite showing signs of promise in the short-term in his comeback, in the long-term, he was never going to be the same player he once was. Who knows what sort of player Billy Lowe could have been.

How Dixie Joined Everton

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Dixie Dean is unarguably Everton’s greatest ever player. When he was at Tranmere, umpteen other teams were interested in signing him, with one even giving him a tour of their stadium. He ultimately decided to join the club he supported since he was 8 years old. But how did he come to join Everton?

The club was first interested in him when he was 16 years old when Alfred Wade and Thomas H McIntosh watched him just six weeks after he signed his first deal with Tranmere. They said that he’s a player Everton should keep an eye on. Harry Makepeace then watched him play for Tranmere’s reserve team against Ashton National in the Cheshire League, saying he was “promising.”

Everton’s interest in Dixie Dean had quietened until scout John Fare was assigned to watch him in 3 games at the start of the 1924/25 season. His first match was Dean’s breakthrough match – Tranmere v Southport on 20th September 1924. Fare was reportedly with representatives from several other clubs who were among the 8,000 spectators at Prenton Park to watch Dean in action. Before the game, Dean had played 4 times for the first team, scoring no goals. Although, he did come close the previous Saturday against Doncaster but as his header was about to creep into the net, goalkeeper Harold Jacklin managed to save it. Everyone was anticipating to see what the 17-year-old was made of. And he didn’t let them down. In the 87th minute, Jimmy Moreton crossed the ball to Dean, he then jinxed past Jack Allen and fired his shot past Billy Halsall to score his first ever Football League goal. Thus commencing an eager pursuit of him from teams all across the country. And Everton were one of them.

After the Southport game, Everton agreed to discuss with Tranmere about the prospect of signing Dixie Dean. But before making an instant decision, the scouting assignment continued. John Fare watched Dean again in Tranmere’s next game against Ashington. But he wasn’t alone. Thomas H McIntosh joined him. But before they watched Dean, another team was interested in him – Newcastle United. Tranmere stayed at Newcastle overnight ahead of the Ashington game. The morning before the game, Tranmere secretary Bert Cooke took Dean to St James’ Park and met the Newcastle chairman and directors to talk about a possible move to the Magpies. He was given a tour of the ground but when asked by Cooke if he wanted to join them, he said no. Cooke then went on to mention that Aston Villa, Arsenal and Bolton were also interested in signing him. But Dean didn’t want to sign for any of them; he wanted to stay at Tranmere for the time being. Tranmere went on to lose to Ashington 1-0, with Dean having a few goalscoring chances but couldn’t find a way past Thomas Newton. Despite the duck, McIntosh liked what he saw and he agreed to talk to a Mr R. Ledsom and try to succeed where Newcastle failed – signing Dixie Dean.

The third and final match of John Fare’s scouting assignment was against Nelson. McIntosh and Fare saw Tranmere beat Nelson 2-0 with Dixie Dean scoring the first goal of the game almost as soon as the second half started. It was a tough goal to score as the ball was surrounded by players but Dean hit it onto the inside of the post and it bounced into the back of the net. Goalkeeper Harry Abbott could have done nothing about it as he could only see the ball go into the goal. However, despite his goal, McIntosh and Fare weren’t as impressed with him as they were before. They both thought Dean had a poor game. But his performance didn’t stop their interest in him and McIntosh said he had his chat with Ledsom and they will keep in touch about the possibility of a transfer.

John Fare’s scouting assignment was a success, but that didn’t stop him from watching him again. Fare watched him three weeks after the Nelson game against Hartlepools United, wherein Dixie Dean scored his first Football League hat-trick. He scored his first goal of the game after just 5 minutes, assisted by Stan Sayer. Hartlepools then came from behind to take the lead but Dean equalised in the 35th minute, heading in a corner from former Manchester United player Bert Cartman. In the second half, both sides scored a goal each and with the score at 3-3, the game was still anyone’s to win. And then along came Dean to score his best of his football career – and possibly his life – up to that point. When he got the ball, he waltzed past three Hartlepools players and deftly hit the ball out of Billy Cowell’s reach and into the back of the net. The game ended Tranmere 4-3 Hartlepools.

It was almost as if Dixie Dean knew Thomas H McIntosh and John Fare were unimpressed with his performance against Nelson and wanted to show them what he was truly made of. Fare unsurprisingly enthused over his performance. Before the Hartlepools game, Thomas H McIntosh requested a price for Dean. However, one would suspect the price tag would have risen significantly since his hat-trick. The following week, McIntosh decided to watch Dean on his own when Tranmere played Rochdale. He broke the deadlock after 15 minutes but missed most of the game after retiring injured in the subsequent 2-1 defeat for Tranmere.

The plaudits for Dixie Dean left an impression on Everton chairman Will Cuff and he decided to watch him with his own eyes alongside vice-chairman Ernest Green when Tranmere played Darlington a week after the Rochdale game. The possibility of Dean joining Everton was getting closer and closer as if he impressed Cuff and Green, they would submit a bid of £1,500 for him. A tremendous opportunity for Dixie Dean. Unfortunately, he had a bit of a stinker as Tranmere lost 1-0. The injury the previous week presumably affected him as Cuff believed he wasn’t fit enough to play for Everton yet. However, all was not lost as he was still on the club’s radar.

Thomas H McIntosh was due to watch Dean play against Crewe but he was dropped from the team. He then returned to the squad when they played against Wrexham, this time in front of Ernest Green. He assisted Harry Littlehales’ goal in a 2-0 victory for Tranmere and Green was fairly impressed with his performance. If Dean did have a good performance against Darlington, it was possibly likely that Tranmere would have rejected the £1,500 offer as they set a price tag of £2,000 for Dean. As Everton were flirting with submitting a bid for him, other teams reportedly already submitted one. Nottingham Forest and Chelsea were reported to have made bids for the 17-year-old, with Forest offering £1,800 and Chelsea offering an unspecified higher amount. Sunderland also joined the race, with Sheffield United making an inquiry for him. Sheffield United secretary John Nicholson said that the club did watch Dean a couple of times but no offer had been made yet, but they were eager to sign a promising centre-forward. Tranmere reportedly increased his price tag to £3,000 after Dean was continuously scoring goals. At the time of the increase, he had scored 11 goals in 12 league games. But despite all the reports, Tranmere said they hadn’t received a concrete offer from anyone yet.

As the Dixie Dean transfer saga intensified, Everton had gone a bit silent. That was until John Fare watched him play against Barrow in February 1925. And for the second time, Fare watched him score a hat-trick. When Tranmere were already 1-0 up, Dean extended their lead, converting a cross from Bert Cartman. After former Everton player Frank Alford reduced the deficit before half-time, Dean re-extended Tranmere’s lead by two goals in the 60th minute. Before full-time, he got this hat-trick with a little help from former Liverpool player Francis Checkland. Fare was once again impressed with Dean and believed it was the right time to make him become an Everton player.

About a fortnight after the Barrow game, Everton finally submitted a bid for Dixie Dean, offering Tranmere £2,750 for the prodigy. However, Tranmere rejected the offer. Everton submitted another bid for him, this time meeting Tranmere’s reported asking price of £3,000. Despite late interest from Liverpool, Tranmere accepted the second offer. The deal was almost complete and all that was left now was for Thomas H McIntosh to convince Dean to join Everton. A couple of days before their meeting, Dean played – and scored – for Tranmere in their 2-1 defeat to Darlington. That game was to be his last game in a Tranmere shirt.

On 16th March 1925, it was transfer deadline day. Unbeknownst to Dixie Dean, he was involved. Thinking he had nothing to do, he went to a cinema in Birkenhead called The Scala to watch a film called Rupert of Hentzau. When he went back home after the film finished, his mother told him that Thomas H McIntosh was waiting for him at the Woodside Hotel. He ran about two and a half miles as fast as he could to get to the hotel and cement his dream move. Dean had been an Everton supporter since he was 8 years old after his father William took him to a game during their title-winning campaign in 1915. This was the only Everton game he had ever watched. The atmosphere amazed him and he wanted to become an Everton player from that moment. When he met McIntosh, McIntosh told him he wanted him to join Everton, and Dean couldn’t say yes any quicker.

When the move was complete, Tranmere fans were so distraught that they threatened to boycott matches. Dean, however, wasn’t as upset:

I didn’t feel really terribly sad about leaving Tranmere because I did always want to get away and get to the one and only club: Everton. That’s been my club since I was a kid. So that’s it. I’d have played for nothing there. I just knew I’d come off at Everton. It had been there since I was a child. I just seemed to know that I could do something and, of course, it didn’t take me long to prove it.

Dixie Dean talking to John Keith (Dixie Dean: The Inside Story of a Football Icon)

A truckload of teams wanted to sign one of football’s greatest ever prodigies. But in the end, Dixie wanted to join his beloved Everton. They were the only team he had his eyes on. He showed how much he loved the Toffees on the pitch, and the fans loved him as much.