On the 21st of April 1906, Everton won the FA Cup for the first time with a 1-0 victory over Newcastle in front of 75,609 supporters. The team that brought the cup back to Goodison will forever be remembered for their contribution to the footballing history of Merseyside. Jack Taylor was captain and so lifted the famous trophy that day, however there were two other men within the cup winning side that both went on to captain Everton. Harry Makepeace and Jack Sharp both deserve their place in the Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame for being part of the first FA Cup winning side but they both made considerable contributions in other aspects of their lives. Makepeace and Sharp are both part of a list of twelve men to represent England in both football and cricket. As well as this, Makepeace served in the RAF during the First World War. This article will examine their lives on the football and cricket pitch, as well as the battleground.
Harry Makepeace played 336 games for Everton from 1902-1915, scored 23 goals and captained the side in the 1910-11 season. He won the 1906 FA Cup and 1914-15 First Division whilst with Everton. As well as this he played 4 games for England. As for cricket, he played 499 first-class matches for Lancashire, being described as ‘amongst the immortals of Lancashire and Yorkshire cricket’ by cricket writer Nevile Cardus. He also played 4 test matches for England in the 1920-21 Ashes, scoring 117 in one test match. That Ashes series turned out to be the first in which England lost every test match. Makepeace was also a Flight Sergeant in the No.1 (Southern) Aircraft Repair Depot of the RAF during the First World War. This is a lot to achieve in seventy years and is a phenomenal display of the athletic ability that Makepeace possessed. He went into coaching at Everton and Lancashire, after his retirement from playing, for over twenty years.
Jack Sharp played 456 times and scored 80 goals for Everton. He also went on to captain the side, won the 1906 FA Cup and scored in the 1907 FA Cup final loss during his career at Goodison from 1896-1910. His international career only consisted of two appearances, but he did manage to score in a 4-0 England win over Ireland at Molineux in 1903. His cricketing career was also spent with Lancashire where he played 534 first-class matches and went on to represent England in 3 test matches claiming three wickets.
Jack Sharp went on to represent Everton as director in 1923. He also started a sports shop which was situated where the Metquarter is in town today. The business was taken over by his son and was eventually bought out by JJB.
Makepeace and Sharp’s careers are both individually impressive, but it is remarkable that both men are so cloesley linked. To have the ability to play for Everton and England is special, to then be able to also play first-class cricket at the same time and also represent England in another sport is remarkable. The fact that the two men both did all of this, together and at the same time is unbeleivable. There have only ever been twelve men that have represented England at football and cricket and the fact that two of them represented Everton at the same time and delivered their first FA Cup deserves recognition.
Makepeace probably edges Sharp’s career, but they are both so similar it seems hard to believe. Makepeace’s contributions in the First World War also must be noted, he fought for his country whilst being a top sportsman. When the war finished he simply returned and picked up where left off. Sharp played for Everton across a longer period and was captain from 1908-1910. The fact that Makepeace succeeded Sharp as captain is again a baffling similarity between the two men but further illustrates that it was no coincidence that they were successful. Makepeace, as John Roberts notes in Everton: The Official Centenary History, was a ‘respected player’. He also took and scored crucial penalties for Everton and, with Taylor, was part of a solid half back trio. Taylor ‘was revered by Evertonians because he possessed all the qualities that clubs have sought in players since the beginning of organised football. He was the epitome of the team man, being willing to adapt to any position on the field and setting the best possible examples of unselfish play and conduct becoming a gentleman’.
The phrase man for all seasons is perhaps too easily accredited to a player who can play both left back and right back. These two men took that meaning to a whole new level. They loved sport and were obviously immensely talented which is why they were awarded the honour of being double internationals. It must be said that they both only made a few appearances for their countries and it is their loyalty to Everton and Lancashire that is particularly impressive. They played a combined 792 games for Everton, Makepeace went on to coach, Sharp was director and they are both part of the Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame. These two men will always be known as two of the twelve double internationals, perhaps what they should be best known as is two men who were ferociously loyal to Everton and Lancashire and gave a great deal of their lives to the Toffees.
@PeterKennyJones
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