William James Sawyer (1870–1940) was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Better known simply as "WJ" or Bill to friends. He was an accountant who rose to be Secretary of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal Company. He played a prominent role in footballing circles on Merseyside over a 30-year period. He was instrumental in the formation of

South Liverpool F.C. South Liverpool Football Club is a football club based in Aigburth, Liverpool, England, founded as a phoenix club of a club of the same name. It is currently a member of the ; the team plays at Jericho Lane in the Otterspool area of Aigburth ...

, which in 1914 played the likes of

Tranmere Rovers F.C. Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

Chester City F.C. Chester City Football Club was an association football team from Chester, England that played in a variety of leagues between 1885 and 2010. The club played its home games at Sealand Road from 1906 to 1991 and moved to the Deva Stadium in 1992 ...

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete history ...

and others. He was Hon. Secretary/Manager of

Everton F.C. Everton Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Liverpool that competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club was a founder member of the Football League in 1888 and has compe ...

in 1918-19 (until stepping down due to work commitments) - steering the club through tricky times as World War I ended. He remained on the Everton Board for a decade and chaired the Financial Committee. In 1925 he was involved in bringing Willian "Dixie" Dean to the club. Mr Sawyer also assisted in the formation of Wigan Borough FC (forerunner of Wigan Athletic). In 1933, he became Secretary-Manager at

New Brighton A.F.C. New Brighton Association Football Club is the name of two football clubs from the seaside resort of New Brighton, in Wallasey, Merseyside in England. The original club founded in 1921 were members of the Football League from 1923 until 1951, ...

, who were South Liverpool FC, who relocated to New Brighton, guiding them to relative success over a 7-year period. Known to be a "bon-viveur", he had twin sons in 1895 Daniel and William Herbert. William Herbert later served as President of the Everton Shareholders Federation. WJ died on 27 June 1940 and is buried in

Anfield Cemetery Anfield Cemetery, or the City of Liverpool Cemetery, is located in Anfield, a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It lies to the northeast of Stanley Park, and is bounded by Walton Lane (A580 road) to the west, Priory Road to the south, ...

References

*Rest In Pieces: South Liverpool Football Club (1894-1994), by Hyder Jawad *History of The Everton FC (1878–1928), by Thomas Keates *New Brighton - A Complete Record, by Garth Dykes *Soccerama 02: The Culture of Football, edited by Hyder Jawad 1870 births 1940 deaths 19th-century English people 20th-century English people People from Liverpool Everton F.C. managers New Brighton A.F.C. managers Burials at Anfield Cemetery {{England-footy-manager-stub