SHARP, John  'Jack'   [1878-1938]


 

John ‘Jack’ Sharp was born in Hereford on 15th February 1878, the son of butcher Charles Sharp, who had a shop in Eign Street in the centre of the town. It was whilst playing for local football team Hereford Thistle that he was spotted by Aston Villa. His stay with the Villa was not too long, it was said that they considered him too small to be a successful forward. Nonetheless, in his season and a half with them he made 23 league appearances with an impressive tally of 15 goals. This was enough to bring him to the attention of Everton and he joined them, along with his full-back brother Bert, in 1899.

He remained with Everton until retirement in 1910 and enjoyed a decade of exceptional success. Featuring in the F.A. Cup winning team of 1906, (it was he who provided the cross for Sandy Young’s winning goal) he also played several games for England, becoming one of the few men to have represented England at both football and cricket when he appeared in three tests against the Australians in 1909. Qualifying for Lancashire  County Cricket Club via a spell with Leyland, he made over 500 first-class appearances.

Sharp made 382 appearances for Everton and scored 80 goals, a record which saw him named by the club as one of their Millennium Giants.

After retirement Jack Sharp retained his Everton connection, serving as a director of the club until his death, aged 59, in 1938. His name was also known to generations of Merseyside sportsmen and sportswomen via his sporting goods shop in Whitechapel.

In 1901 Jack Sharp was a lodger at 86 Rockfield Road L4, a house which was demolished, ironically, to make space for the expansion of Liverpool FC's Anfield stadium. In 1911 he was living with his wife Mary and their two children at 'Duneen', Mersey Road L17. At the time of his death in 1938 he was living at 243 Queens Drive Wavertree L15.


Whitechapel

Jack Sharp's original store

Whitechapel

Jack Sharp's shop in the 1950's.

243 Queens Drive L15

Jack Sharp's home at the time of his death in 1938

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

The Wikipedia entry gives basic facts. There is an excellent essay on Sharp by Rob Sawyer on the ToffeeWeb site.