Alex Stevenson

Alexander (Alex) Stevenson was born in Dublin on 9th August 1912. He played local football before joining Glasgow Rangers in August 1930. His form was so good that he won his first international cap for Northern Ireland against Scotland on 16th September 1933. Ireland won the game (2-1). He also played that season against England (0-3) and Wales (1-1).

Stevenson helped Glasgow Rangers win the Scottish League before joining Everton in January 1934. The team at that time included Dixie Dean, Joe Mercer, Cliff Britton, Ted Sager, Albert Geldard, and Jack Jones. Stevenson made his debut for his new club against Arsenal in February 1934. In his book, Who's Who of Everton, Tony Matthews argues that Stevenson was "a wily, brainy player, clever ball-juggler (one of the best of his generation) and as nimble as a mountain goat." He was also a great supplier of crosses to top goalscorer, Dixie Dean.

Stevenson was a regular member of the Northern Ireland team. He developed a great partnership with Peter Doherty. In 1935 he played against England (1-2) and Scotland (1-2). The following season he won his 7th international cap against Wales (3-2).

In December, 1936, Everton signed Tommy Lawton for a fee of £6,500. It was a record fee for a teenager. One of the attractions of the deal was that Lawton now had the opportunity to play with Dixie Dean. When they met for the first-time, Dean put his arm round Lawton and said: "I know you've come here to take my place. Anything I can do to help you I will. I promise, anything at all."

At the beginning of the 1937-38 season Tommy Lawton played at inside-right and Dixie Dean at centre-forward. The pairing did not work and Everton failed to win a game when they two men played together. On 8th September 1937, Dean was dropped and Lawton replaced him as centre-forward to play against Manchester City. Lawton scored in the 4-1 victory and Dean only played in two more games for Everton before leaving the club.

Everton finished in 14th place in the 1937-38 season with Tommy Lawton ending up as the club's top marksman with 28 goals in 39 league games. He was also the top scorer in the whole of the First Division. This was an amazing achievement for someone who was only 18 years old. He later admitted that Stevenson played an important role in his goalscoring achievements. "Alex was a wizard at the through pass which ripped open the defence."

Everton won the first four games of the 1938-39 season. The fifth game was against Arsenal, the current league champions, at Highbury. After 15 minutes Tommy Lawton passed to Stevenson, who scored from close range. Lawton got the second in the 38th minute. Everton eventually won the game 2-1.

That season Everton won the First Division league title, by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers by four points. Tommy Lawton was the club's top marksmen with 34 goals in 38 games. For the second season in a row Lawton was the top scorer in the First Division. As well as creating a large numbers of chances for Lawton, Stevenson managed to score 10 goals in 36 games.

Stevenson's career was interupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. He returned to Everton after the war. He won the last of his 17 international caps against Scotland on 4th October 1947.

Stevenson continued to play for Everton until the end of the 1948-49 season. During his time at the club he scored 90 goals in 271 games.

Alex Stevenson died in 1985.