Column

18comments  |  Jump to last
This article may have been recategorised and is therefore no longer available at this URL.

You can try to find the updated link in the article archive.

Share article:

Reader Comments (18)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer


Ray Robinson
1 Posted 29/12/2020 at 09:02:27
I lived just down the road from his parents' newsagents in Overpool, Ellesmere Port, where I bought all my chewing gum to collect football and sundry cards, and he very kindly got me a full set of autographs from the Everton title-winning side of 1962-63 (which I still possess).

I saw him play in the Sheffield Wednesday match mentioned above but always got the impression that he played second fiddle to the ever-dependable Brian Labone, rather than Jimmy Gabriel – hence the very few appearances. Undoubtedly one of the consolidating influences in me becoming a Blue.

RIP, George Sharples.

Michael Kenrick
Editorial Team
3 Posted 29/12/2020 at 10:23:39
Great work, again, Rob, your diligent research and excellent story-telling is building an incomparable assembly of 'biosketches' for so many former Everton players, great and less-so, who would otherwise risk being forgotten in the relentless passage of time.

One thing I'd like to do as time permits is add links to your wonderful bios from our Everton Past Players page. At the moment, this is restricted mainly to the Player Profiles we have assembled at ToffeeWeb for contemporary players over the past 25 years. My hope is that it would provide a more accessible index to your unique compendium.

Forgive me but I did add his birthdate to your text, and I changed the date of his death to 14 December 2020 (not September). Please let me know if my information is incorrect, and thanks again for all your fantastic articles.

Kevin Molloy
4 Posted 29/12/2020 at 10:48:58
Christ, Dave Mackay again. What an absolute psychopath he must have been.
Chris Williams
5 Posted 29/12/2020 at 11:09:10
I remember him well. I think his nickname was Ena!
Graham Reed
7 Posted 29/12/2020 at 14:19:32
His last game was far from a goalless draw at Highbury in December 1963. Arsenal won 6-0. George Sharples was part of a defense that had 6 changes from the Championship team of the previous season. It read Rankin; Brown, Meagan; Harris, Heslop, Sharples instead of West; Parker, Thomson; Gabriel, Labone, Kay. Mind you Rankin and Meagan were first choices by then and of course Harris and Brown were first-team regulars in many seasons.
Graham Reed
8 Posted 29/12/2020 at 14:33:14
And of course RIP George Sharples and condolences to his family. He was at the top club of the time and had few chances to break through.
John McFarlane Snr
9 Posted 29/12/2020 at 14:45:08
Hi Rob, another great article, my feelings in George's early days at Goodison were that he would develop into an excellent player, unfortunately he was faced with the competition of Jimmy Gabriel, Brian Harris, Mick Meagan, and eventually Tony Kay. My abiding memory of George is that of the 4-1 defeat to Wolves at Molineux on January 21st 1961, when he and Roy Parnell were drafted into the side as replacements for Jimmy Gabriel and Alex Parker. When Ted Farmer scored, a Wolves fan next to me said "That's his 21st goal on his 21st birthday". I have checked and he was indeed 21 that day, but I have no evidence of it being his 21st goal.
I had great expectations regarding George but unfortunately for whatever reason he he never attained the level I had foreseen, a very good footballer nevertheless. 'RIP George'.
Peter Mills
10 Posted 29/12/2020 at 17:45:15
A typically excellent article, Rob. George was little more than a name to me. I saw him play once, you have written a fine summary of his career and life.

RIP George Sharples.
Rob Sawyer
11 Posted 29/12/2020 at 18:10:25
Thanks for the kind words about the article, everyone. Graham (7) thanks for the correction - due to not wearing reading glasses I had misread 0-6 for 0-0 when researching his last match! This has now been corrected. Thanks also to Michael for correcting my typo re. George's date of passing.
Rick Tarleton
12 Posted 29/12/2020 at 19:19:03
A good player who five years earlier would have been a shoo in at wing half. One of those players who could not command a place in the first eleven and the first eleven played every game if they were fit. So even at Christmas and Easter when they played on two successive days, there was no suggestion of squad rotation.
I send my sympathies to his family and thank Rob Sawyer for an excellent obituary.
Lenny Kingman
13 Posted 30/12/2020 at 12:48:37
#4

Yes Kevin he was a brute when it took his fancy was Dave Mackay. Round the same time he cut Jimmy Husband in two. Must have had a penchant for blue blood, current or past players.

Excellent story of a life well lived. Thank you Rob.
Lenny Kingman
14 Posted 30/12/2020 at 12:48:56
#4

Yes Kevin he was a brute when it took his fancy was Dave Mackay. Round the same time he cut Jimmy Husband in two. Must have had a penchant for blue blood, current or past players.

Excellent story of a life well lived. Thank you Rob.
Lenny Kingman
15 Posted 30/12/2020 at 12:49:02
#4

Yes Kevin he was a brute when it took his fancy was Dave Mackay. Round the same time he cut Jimmy Husband in two. Must have had a penchant for blue blood, current or past players.

Excellent story of a life well lived. Thank you Rob.
Derek Thomas
16 Posted 30/12/2020 at 13:14:28
We both made our debuts that day, George on the pitch, me in the Gwladys St. 1-1 If I remember, our goal was a WBA og...a poor game by all accounts, but magic for me.

I remember Bobby Collins squaring up to a giant W. Brom defender. His body language was of the...'do you want to see me Jimmy?' type.

'Jimmy' - or whoever, wisely decided, that...on reflection, no he didn't.
John Raftery
17 Posted 30/12/2020 at 17:43:49
Dave MacKay should have been locked up after his ‘tackle' on Jimmy Husband in 1968. That was the worst foul I have seen on a football field. If it had been committed on the street, the perpetrator would have been arrested for assault.
Christine Foster
18 Posted 07/01/2021 at 22:06:55
John Raftery 17,

I was standing about 20 feet from that tackle... I have never in all my years "lost it" as I did following that tackle, I even threw a kids clacker rattle at MacKay who had walked away with a smirk on his face. I am ashamed to admit that but more ashamed it missed.

Rob, excellent bio, I confess George to me was a name without a face as a little before my time, I guess, but thank you for filling in the gaps!

John Keating
19 Posted 07/01/2021 at 22:22:24
Lenny,

There was a few of them who could dish it out but couldn't take it and MacKay was one. Bremner and Lorimer were shithouses. Harris at Chelsea was another coward

David Baxter
20 Posted 26/01/2021 at 10:06:56
I played rugby against George Sharples when I was at Oldershaw Grammar School in Wallasey. He was almost 6 foot then, and ran through our backline with ease,scored 4 tries. That’s why New Zealand rugby has "weight for age' rules. He would have had to play for 18- or 19-year-olds there.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


About these ads

, placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' });