ABSTRACT
Of all the terrace heroes of the 1930s Joe Mercer is probably the best known to contemporary football supporters and observers of the game, although more because of his post-war exploits, both as an inspirational player and later as a manager, than for his contribution at Everton during the 1930s. Both his autobiography and the ‘authorised’ biography published after his death1 display a similar focus on his post-war experiences and achievements. Accordingly, this chapter draws less on these more recently published sources and more on materials that appeared in the 1930s, as well as on standard reference texts and the memories of those who knew Mercer in the earlier part of his career.
