John ‘Jack’ Crelley was born in Kirkdale, Liverpool on 24th
September 1881. At the time of the 1901 census he was living in the household
of his widowed mother, Elizabeth, his occupation being recorded as apprentice
engineer.
Between 1899 and 1901 he played twice for Everton, then
returned to the club in 1902 and stayed with them six years, making 114
appearances as a full-back. He played in the team which won the 1906 F A Cup
final against Newcastle United. After leaving Everton he was registered with
Exeter City but does not seem to have made any first team appearances for them.
He appears to have served in the Merchant Navy during the
First World War. A report of a charity match in the Liverpool Echo (27.4.1915)
explained that Crelley’s absence was because he was “sailing the mighty deep”
and his name appears on the records for award of medals to merchant seamen in
that conflict.
Jack Crelley seems to have lived his whole life within a
stone’s throw of Goodison Park. During his spell with Everton he appears to
have lived at 25 Newark Street L4. By 1911 he in business as a “tobacconist/shopkeeper”
at 152 County Road L4, with his wife Mary and his widowed mother, Elizabeth.
This was his address well into the 1920’s. In the 1936-37 electoral register
his address is shown as 123 County Road L4 (now the site of the Public Library).
At the time of his death he was living at 48 Carisbrooke Road L4. He died on 16th
October 1946 and was buried at Anfield Cemetery.
