The Everton North America All Star Awards formally recognise the contributions of players, coaches and managers from continent that have represented Everton and also those who have a connection to the Blues and have played in North America.
Tomasz Radzinski, Sam Chedgzoy, Steve Seargeant and Adrian Heath form the four-person shortlist for the this year’s award. Read more about each of the players below.
Only members of affiliated US Everton supporters’ groups will be eligible to vote before the voting period ends on Wednesday 13 July. Eligible supporters will have already received an email with voting instructions.
Each profile has been taken from Dr David France, Darren Griffiths and Rob Sawyer’s book, Toffee Soccer, profiling the links between Everton and North America.
Tomasz Radzinski
Everton player from 2001/02 to 2004/05
The Poznań, Poland-born speedster had played for both the North York Rockets of the Canadian Soccer League and the St Catharines Roma Wolves in the Canadian National Soccer League before returning to Europe. There, the Canada international forward won the Belgium Cup with Germinal Ekeren and then consecutive Belgian First Division titles with Anderlecht before moving to Everton for £4.5 million.
On Merseyside, the 27-year-old striker displayed his scintillating acceleration but missed many gilt-edged opportunities. After confirming that football is the only profession where a man can succeed one time out of three and still be considered a prolific goalscorer, he submitted a transfer request and made a controversial and acrimonious exit to Fulham in 2004.
Tomasz Radzinski made a total of 85 appearances for Everton, 16 as a substitute, scoring 26 goals.
Sam Chedgzoy
Everton player from 1910/11 to 1925/26
The Ellesmere Port-born winger swerved down the touchline to immortality at Goodison.
Initially, he hit the headlines during the glorious 1914/15 season when his pin-point crosses set up many key goals for centre-forward Bobby Parker. Shortly afterwards, his playing career was disrupted by First World War, during which he served in the 2nd Battalion of the Scots Guards.
Then in 1926, he made the national news again by engineering a change to the new corner-kick rule.
Promptly, the England star bolted to North America to join the New Bedford Whalers in the American Soccer League and then the Montreal Carsteel in the Canadian National Soccer League − his last first team outing there was at age 49.
Posthumously, Sam Chedgzoy was voted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sam Chedgzoy made a total of 300 appearances for Everton, scoring 35 goals.
Steve Seargeant
Everton player from 1968/69-1977/78
At around 5ft 8in on his tip-toes, Seargeant lacked the height to be a First Division centre-half and was converted by manager Billy Bingham into a tidy left-back to replace John ‘Tiger’ McLaughlin.
Known for his intelligent positioning, solid tackling and sound distribution, Seargeant showed moments of genuine class during the 1974/75 season until he was injured against Burnley and was forced to miss the final four League fixtures. In his absence, his top of-the-table teammates imploded and finished only fourth in the table.
Unable to regain his first team place, he joined the NASL’s Detroit Express for a nominal fee of £22,500 in early-1978, playing both outdoors and indoors.
After three years, Seargeant moved onto the California Surf before concluding his days indoors with the Phoenix Inferno in the MISL.
Steve Seargeant made a total of 86 appearances for Everton, four as a substitute, scoring one goal.
Adrian Heath
Everton player from 1981/82-1988/89
Statistics only tell part of the Adrian Heath story − ‘Inchy’ was a giant.
Signed by manager Howard Kendall from Stoke City for £750,000 in January 1982, he could hover behind the front-men, forage in midfield or partner Graeme Sharp up-front.
His intelligent off-the-ball movement meant that the patter of his boots was heard everywhere, especially at Oxford in the famous League Cup tie that changed the fortunes of Howard Kendall and his team.
Though injury curtailed his involvement in the epic 1984/85 campaign, he played a key role in Everton’s success in the mid-1980s. Heath left for Espanyol in 1988 but returned nine years later as Kendall’s right-hand man.
In 2008, he moved to North America to coach in the USL at Austin and Orlando, before taking over at the new MLS franchise in Minnesota.
Adrian Heath made a total of 278 appearances for Everton, 30 as a substitute, scoring 94 goals.
