Frank James Everist (1885 – 30 August 1945) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as an

outside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and Croydon Common in the 1900s. Although he distinguished himself as an amateur sprinter, he achieved little success at football.

Football career

Everist was born in

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and played his early football for various clubs in the county, including

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Sidcup, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cr ...

and

. He was also an amateur runner who won in excess of 40 prizes on the athletics track. He was recommended to

of the Southern League by a Kent-based supporter and signed for the club in May 1906. As a former sprinter, he was able to use his speed to great effect in the reserves, earning him a call-up to the first team on 29 September 1909, replacing Wally Radford at

outside-right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for one match, a 2–1 defeat at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

. For the next match, manager

Ernest Arnfield Ernest Arnfield (25 December 1853 – 8 August 1945) was an English football manager who was secretary/manager of Southampton F.C. from 1897 to 1911, and again from 1912 to 1919. Arnfield was born in Mellor, Derbyshire. He died in Southampton, a ...

tried

Joe Blake John Joseph Blake (1882 – 23 February 1931) was an English footballer who played as an outside-forward for Southampton in the early part of the twentieth century. Football career Blake was born in Belchamp Walter, near Sudbury and played his ...

on the left before

Frank Jefferis Frank Jefferis (3 July 1884 – 21 May 1938) was an English footballer. Playing career He initially played football for his local non-league team, Fordingbridge Turks, before being invited for a trial at The Dell by Southampton of the Southe ...

became the established left-winger. Everist returned to the side in December, playing two matches at

outside-left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, scoring his first goal in a 1–1 draw at Norwich City, but was never able to establish himself in the first-team. He had five further appearances, in various forward positions, later in the season at the end of which the "Saints" finished 11th in the table, their worst position since the inauguration of the league. During his time at The Dell, Everist was also employed as the club's maintenance man. In the summer of 1907, he moved back to South London to join Croydon Common who had just turned professional. At Croydon, he joined former Southampton players

Samuel Meston Samuel Meston (16 January 1872 – 14 August 1948) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half-back for Stoke and Southampton. Whilst with Southampton, he appeared in two FA Cup Finals and won six Southern League championship ...

, Alex McDonald,

Bert Hodgkinson Albert Victor Hodgkinson (10 August 1884 – 25 November 1939) was a Welsh footballer who played as an outside-forward for various clubs in the 1900s, including making one appearance for the Wales national football team in 1908. Football care ...

and

Harry Hadley Harry Hadley (26 October 1877 – 22 October 1947) was an English professional football player and manager. He played once for the England national team. Playing career Hadley was born in Barrow-in-Furness. Having had little junior football e ...

. He made his debut for Croydon Common in their first match in the Southern League Second Division and also played in their first

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

match, a 1–1 draw against Woolwich Arsenal. Everist spent one season at The Nest, during which he made a total of 29 appearances, scoring eight goals. In October 1908, he moved to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, where he acquired the nickname "German". He later spent time playing for his two former clubs,

and

. Everist died at the County Hospital in Farnborough, Kent on 30 August 1945, aged 60.

References

External links

Career details
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everist, Frank 1885 births Footballers from the London Borough of Bromley People from Orpington 1945 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Southampton F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Southern Football League players Cray Wanderers F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Orpington F.C. players