Bill “Dixie” Dean (1924-38) 431 appearances, 377 goals   “There was an atmosphere wherever Dixie went; there was excitement. I’ve seen around 2,000 people following him around in places like Switzerland, Germany and France. He was bigger and better than life.” – Joe Mercer The Babe Ruth of football, Dean cost Everton £3,000 from...
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Alan Ball MBE (1966-72)  249 appearances, 78 goals.   “No one was greater than their club, but you came pretty close.” – Tribute sent to Goodison after Ball’s death. ‘I was running back to the centre-circle after I scored the second goal against Liverpool and pure elation welled up inside me. I remember thinking:...
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 Neville Southall MBE (1981-98)  578 appearances  “It was my first signing, and my best, in his prime, Neville was the best keeper in the world.” – Howard Kendall The bulky Nev of later years (although as a former hod-carrier, he was always a big man) repelled wave after wave from Manchester United in the...
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 Tommy Lawton (1936-39)  97 appearances, 70 goals  “Technically, surely the greatest number nine of all time” – Joe Mercer   A teen sensation, Tommy would be higher up this list if the war hadn’t halted his career and deprived him of six seasons of football. Underneath the centre parting and lashings of Brylcreem, lay...
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 5. Alex Young “The Golden Vision” (1960-68)  271 appearances, 87 goals  “I left Everton Football Club in 1968. But I can honestly say that Everton has never left me.” Alex Young was the beatific poster boy for the School of Science. Bought for £42,000 from Hearts, Young bewitched all with his skill and it...
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 Kevin Ratcliffe (1979-92)  472 appearances, 2 goals  In American sport-speak, Ratcliffe is the “most winningest” Everton captain ever and he won two league championships, an FA Cup, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup for the Blues. The Welshman initially played in a variety of roles, and it wasn’t until he was moved to centre...
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 Brian Labone (1957-1972)  530 appearances, 2 goals  “One Evertonian is worth twenty Liverpudlians”  Everton’s consummate defender and captain, Labone was firmly ensconced in the England set up of the 60s; however, ‘the Last of the Corinthians’ turned down a place in Alf Ramsey’s 1966 World Cup squad to marry his wife. Both a modest...
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 Ted Sagar (1929-1953)  495 appearances   Shunted down the list only because Southall is one of the best goalkeepers in history, Sagar is an Everton behemoth. Amazingly, Ted was just 11 months short of spending a quarter of a century on the Toffees’ books as a ‘keeper and unsurprisingly he holds the record of...
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  Thomas Gwynfor “T.G.” Jones (1940-49)  175 appearances, 5 goals   This noble Welsh centre half was bought for £3,000 from Wrexham, and – alongside Tommy Lawton and Joe Mercer – was a key part of Everton’s resurgence, culminating in the 1939 League Championship. The Everton team of the time had youth and dynamism...
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  10. Colin Harvey (1963-75)  384 appearances, 24 goals  Harvey was a home-grown talent who made his debut at 18 years of age, playing against Inter in the San Siro in 1963, and is one of the few to both manage and play for this great club. Alongside Ball and Kendall – he made...
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