Goodison Park, Everton FC. In 1892 the first major footballing stand in England was built at Goodison. In Scotland both Rangers (1887) and Celtic (1892) had stands finished earlier (just).
Kelly Brothers of Walton were the main builders at Goodison, with costs around £3000 for two covered stands, housing 4,000 people. 12 turnstiles around the ground cost £15! Everton moved across Stanley Park from Anfield where they had shared the Liverpool FC ground.
On August 24th 1892, Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall of the FA opened the stadium with 12,000 spectators, fireworks and an athletics' event! Football?
The first official game at Goodison Park, was on September 2nd 1892 when Everton beat Bolton Wanderers 4-2 in a friendly. On this day the Football League Div 1, went national with the first match between Woolwich Arsenal and Newcastle Utd at Plumstead. 2,000 saw a 2-2 draw. The next day (the Sunday) Everton met Nottingham Forest and drew 2-2.
In 1893 Everton were FA Cup finalists, losing to Wolves 1-0 at Fallowfield Manchester.
1894 Goodison Park hosted the FA Cup Final between Notts County and Bolton Wanderers. County won 4-1 and became the first club from the Second Division to win the cup. 41,000 watched history being made.
1895 Everton were First Division runners up and crowds of 30,000+ were common. Money came in. There was further improvements to the stadium in 1895 and a full modernisation in 1907.
In 1966 Goodison Park was chosen to host 5 World Cup games includung the classic quarter-final between Portugal and North Korea (know anything about this?? look it up) and the West Germany v The Soviet Union Semi-final, attracting a 40,000+ crowd.
Everton have been in the top flight for a record 117 seasons, missing out in 1930-1, 1951-2 to 1953-4.
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