Everton v Liverpool (1902)
- Liverpool
- 1902-09-27
The earliest surviving Merseyside derby on film catches two of Everton's goals in a 3-1 home win.
When the filmmakers only have three or four minutes of film stock on hand to capture 90 minutes of football and the ceremonies that surround it, it helps to have a game like this one, in which Everton powered in three goals against their local rivals in the first 25 minutes. Although Liverpool got a goal back, the later screenings must have made uncomfortable viewing for one half of the city.
Reel 106 - teams enter the pitch from corner of the ground, Liverpool first, then the referees, followed by Everton. The game in play from behind and to the side of the Liverpool goal.
Reel 107 - Play continues from the same camera position. Everton goal, shot of crowd celebrating [camera in same position but directed at crowd along the back of goal]. More gameplay, followed by another Everton goal and similar crowd reaction shot. Further play.
Reel 108 - Series of panning shots of different parts of the crowd from around the ground. Crowd waving and gesturing under encouragement. One person holding his hands up to indicate the 3-1 half time score.
Note: Everton won 3-1 at home. Information provided by Tony Brown in The Football League: Results and Dates, Volume One. Division One, 1888/9 to 1999/2000. 2000: Brown, Nottingham.
For Blackburn-based filmmakers Mitchell & Kenyon, the attraction of football was at least as much the swelling crowds - who they hoped to lure to paid screenings - as the game itself. With only a few hundred feet of film on hand and far less mobile cameras than today's, their cameramen could only hope to sample the action on the pitch; catching a goal was a rare bonus.
The crowds' passion and energy are almost spectacle enough, but these films also survive as priceless football history - preserving, among other trophies, the earliest known footage of Manchester Utd and probably the first 'international' games captured on film.