1878 - 1930
Everton established themselves as a very good team and as crowds of up to 2,000 gathered to watch them in Stanley Park, it became evident that a new, enclosed ground would soon be needed.
The fourth and final season at the Park was 1882-83, when Everton reached the final of the new Liverpool Cup, only to lose to arch-rivals Bootle in the Final.
For the following season, Everton moved to a field at Priory Road, which boasted dressing rooms and a makeshift grandstand - and the team went one better and actually won the Liverpool Cup, defeating Earlestown in the Final to secure the club's first ever trophy.
However, the owner of that Priory Road field soon tired of the presence of so many football supporters on his land and Everton were soon on the move again - to a field off Anfield Road that would one day become a world famous footballing arena!
The players changed at the nearby Sandon Hotel and would walk to their new Anfield Road pitch.
During their spell at Anfield, John Houlding decided to charge the Club rent based on the increase of gate receipts from attendances and not, as was previously the case, at a fixed rate.
This - along with other conflicts with Everton - led to the Club being expelled from Anfield in 1892 and in need of a new home.
The man who led the Club across Stanley Park to Goodison was accountant and church organist, George Mahon.
Indeed, fully expecting Houlding to dismiss Everton from their Anfield home, he acquired land on a patch of Stanley Park called 'Mere Green Field' and also made sure that the Club kept their name.
The work on developing a ground on that site was commenced - although fears over financing the project began to emerge. However, Club director Dr James Clement Baxter gave Everton an unsecured interest-free loan of £1000 and was to prove the ground's saviour, ensuring it became the first purpose-built home of a football club in England when opened on Thursday August 27, 1892.
For more on the move to Goodison and the work done to make Everton trailblazers in the game click the 'Moving to Goodison' tab above.
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