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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1919-11-26)26 November 1919 | ||
| Place of birth | Darlington, England | ||
| Date of death | 9 March 1985(1985-03-09) (aged 65) | ||
| Place of death | Goodison Park,Liverpool, England | ||
| Position | Centre-forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Stockport County | |||
| Cheadle Heath Nomads | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1951 | Everton | 59 | (19) |
| 1951–1953 | Crewe Alexandra | 24 | (11) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1951–1953 | Crewe Alexandra | ||
| 1953–1958 | Rochdale | ||
| 1958–1961 | Sheffield Wednesday | ||
| 1961–1973 | Everton | ||
| 1975–1977 | Preston North End | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Harry Catterick (26 November 1919 – 9 March 1985) was an Englishfootball player and manager. As a player Catterick played forEverton andCrewe Alexandra, in a career that was interrupted byWorld War II. However, he is most notable as a very successful manager. After spells with Crewe, Rochdale andSheffield Wednesday, with whom he won theSecond Division title, Catterick took over at Everton and won theFirst Division twice and theFA Cup with theMerseyside club.[1] He finished his managerial career atPreston North End.
Catterick's father,Harry Catterick Sr, was a footballer and coach forStockport County. Catterick Jr played at amateur level for Stockport Schoolboys and for Cheadle Heath Nomads before signing part-time forEverton as an 18-year-old in 1937. He was an apprentice marine engine engineer.
However, his professional career coincided with the Second World War so that his opportunities to play were limited. His wartime record with Everton saw him score 55 goals in 71 games. During the war, he also played forManchester United andStockport County.
He finally made his league debut in August 1946, aged 26.
ReplacingEric Taylor in 1958, Catterick achieved much success in his three years withSheffield Wednesday. He led to team to theSecond Division title in 1959 and reached the FA Cup semi-final the following season, losing toBlackburn Rovers. The following season, Wednesday were league runners-up toTottenham Hotspur, who won theDouble. Catterick left just before the end of the season following an approach from Everton.
Catterick took over fromJohnny Carey in April 1961. He soon began to motivate the team and made some astute signings. Under his authoritarian guidance, Everton won theFirst Division championship in the 1962–63 season and the1966 FA Cup Final. Although he narrowly lost the1968 FA Cup Final, the same young team eventually dominated the 1969–70 season, winning the First Division again, one point short of a record points total. Catterick upheld Everton's tradition of cultured, attacking football.
Many tipped Everton to dominate the 1970s under Catterick. However, a dip in the team's morale saw Everton struggle in the league the following season. The sale ofAlan Ball toArsenal in December 1971 came as a surprise to supporters. The struggle by a previously great team seriously affected Catterick's health, and he suffered a severeheart attack on 5 January 1972 near Sheffield after watching the League Cup semi-final between West Ham United and Stoke City. He spent 14 days in hospital in Sheffield, being discharged on 19 January, and returned later that season, but later said that he felt it took him twelve months to fully recover.
He was persuaded to accept a non-executive role at the club on 11 April 1973 by chairman John Moores. He held that role until becoming manager ofPreston North End in August 1975. It was a role he remained in up to May 1977. In the Summer of 1977 Catterick wrote to the FA inquiring about the England managerial vacancy but never received a reply.[2] After that Catterick worked as a scout forSouthampton under the management ofLawrie MacMenemy.
While the manager of rivalsLiverpool,Bill Shankly, was an extrovert, Catterick was the opposite, an introvert. He disliked that the press gave information about his team out to the public, even simple details such as the formation. He ensured that the players on the teamsheet were only listed in alphabetical order so that rival managers would not know the lineup.
He also disliked televised games as he wanted to keep Everton's playing style out of the public eye. Shankly was the opposite, welcoming televised matches as he felt it frightened opposing teams.
Catterick once gave an "exclusive" story to a journalist that Everton had missed out on the signing of Preston North End'sHoward Kendall and that Kendall had in fact opted to sign for Liverpool. The journalist published the story in the newspaper but hours later Kendall had in fact signed for Everton. It is claimed that Catterick had manipulated the media to score points off the field against Shankly.
Catterick died of aheart attack shortly after watching Everton draw 2–2 withIpswich Town in anFA Cup Sixth Round match atGoodison Park on 9 March 1985. He was 65 years old. His death came almost exactly five years after former Everton strikerDixie Dean had died while watching a game at the ground, also of a heart attack. Everton won the replay 1–0 and the players wore black armbands in Catterick's memory.
He is buried in the graveyard ofSt Anne's Church, St Anne's-on-the-Sea, Lancashire, after a funeral held there six days after his death. His gravestone bears the Everton motto, "Nil satis nisi optimum".
Catterick was portrayed byColin Welland in the 1997 TV filmThe Fix, which featured the events of the1964 football betting scandal.
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Crewe Alexandra | 1 December 1951 | 1 June 1953 | 75 | 31 | 11 | 33 | 041.3 |
| Rochdale | 1 June 1953 | 1 May 1958 | 238 | 88 | 58 | 92 | 037.0 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1 August 1958 | 17 April 1961 | 138 | 77 | 31 | 30 | 055.8 |
| Everton | 17 April 1961 | 11 April 1973 | 597 | 278 | 157 | 162 | 046.6 |
| Preston North End | 27 August 1975 | 1 May 1977 | 98 | 40 | 24 | 34 | 040.8 |
| Total[3] | 1,146 | 514 | 281 | 351 | 044.9 | ||