Everton Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former Chairman, Peter Johnson.
In a statement today from his family, it was announced that Peter, 84, died peacefully surrounded by his partner Mel and daughters Susie, Kate and Charlotte.
He spent his recent years in Monaco and France battling failing health, from where he continued to passionately follow his first love, Tranmere Rovers.
He crossed the river to buy a controlling stake in Everton Football Club in the summer of 1994 and in the three-and-a-half years which followed his influence at Goodison was considerable.
Excitement around the club was palpable as he broke the club transfer record to sign World Cup star Daniel Amokachi, brought in Spurs midfielder Vinny Samways and tried to lure colourful Brazilian forward Muller to Goodison.
Only months into his spell as chairman he took the decision to sack manager Mike Walker and appointed club legend Joe Royle – and in the 18 months which followed experienced heady success.
Royle famously led the club to FA Cup glory against Manchester United, Charity Shield success against champions Blackburn Rovers and then added exciting signings like Gary Speed, Andrei Kanchelskis and Nick Barmby to the squad.
Only a Dennis Bergkamp goal for Arsenal in the last few minutes of the season prevented his side from enjoying a second successive European campaign after finishing sixth in the Premier League.
Commercially his board made progress too, overseeing the construction of the club Megastore on Walton Lane, launching club newspaper The Evertonian and initiating a monthly series of club videos. He was also the first chairman of the modern era to explore the possibility of moving away from Goodison Park.
But early in 1997 his regime ran into difficulties. Joe Royle left the club as manager – a move both men later regretted, Howard Kendall was belatedly invited to come in for a third spell as manager – and when that appointment could not deliver the success Johnson craved he turned to serial Scottish winner Walter Smith, but soon clashed over controversial transfer businesses.
Late in 1998 Johnson agreed to sell his shares to Bill Kenwright’s True Blue Holdings Consortium.
Mr Johnson returned back across the water to the Tranmere Rovers club he had transformed from a club which almost went out of existence, into a ‘Super White Army’ consistently knocking on the door of the Premier League.
As a businessman Peter Robert Johnson, born in Liverpool in 1940, was spectacularly successful.
He left school at 16 to start his working life for his father as a butcher in Toxteth, before creating and building up the multi-million pound Park Foods empire from a humble Christmas club and hamper business.
In 1987, he established the Johnson Foundation to support the advancement of education, preservation and protection of health, and relief of poverty and sickness in the Liverpool City Region.
A Birkenhead boy he remained fiercely loyal to his place of his birth and came to the aid of Tranmere Rovers in its time of need, buying it out of administration in 1987.
Under his ownership, the Club began its much vaunted “rocket ship to the moon” voyage – the words of manager Johnny King.
His tenure was the most successful period in the club’s history, rising to Division Two (now the Championship), achieving the play-offs for the newly formed Premiership in three consecutive seasons, and reaching the League Cup Final in Wembley. In total, under Johnson’s ownership, the Club made five trips to Wembley.
As recently as 2023 he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Liverpool, as an individual who had “given a particular service to the University or made an outstanding contribution to the city or region.”
A University statement declared: “Peter Johnson throughout his career embodies all these attributes. A successful businessman and philanthropist, founding the Johnson Foundation which supports projects across the Liverpool City Region around education, health and poverty relief.”
