The Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football

The six men who shaped football in Liverpool are now on display.

Dr David France has furnished Everton Football Club with six magnificently detailed oil paintings known as 'The Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football.'

The portraits of Ben Swift Chambers, John Holding, James Baxter, George Mahon, John McKenna and Will Cuff are now displayed in the Dixie Dean Lounge at Goodison Park.

The six men shaped and developed professional football in Liverpool, and until now their names were not displayed at either Goodison Park or Anfield.

The oil paintings commissioned by David France on behalf of the Everton Shareholders' Association and produced by artist Wasan Suttikatem, will be displayed at Everton for six months before they are loaned to the National Football Museum in Preston and Liverpool Football Club.

Dr David France said: "It is vital that we remember who these men were and I believe the paintings are a very fitting tribute to their work and the commitment they showed to football on Merseyside. The intent is to rotate them between different venues so that all football fans can celebrate Everton's roots and the roots of Merseyside football and the men responsible. "

The idea to commission 'The Founding Fathers of Merseyside Football' portraits was born following the search for an image of Ben Chambers prior to his belated induction into Gwladys Street's Hall of Fame in early 2009. Subsequently Dr France, the Life President of the Everton Shareholders' Association, was inspired to expand the project and include the other great men who contributed to the development of Merseyside football at the end of the nineteenth century.