Dick Forshaw

Born Widnes, Lancashire, England, Forshaw’s father, William Bentham, was from Lancashire and his mother (Eliza, née Thompson) was from County Durham. The family twice relocated from Widnes to Gateshead and they remained in the north east after their second move which came when Richard was a toddler. He appears on the 1901 and 1911 census records as Richard Bentham or Richard Forshaw Bentham but, by 1921, he is listed as Richard Forshaw, professional footballer. He had played for both Nottm Forest and Middlesbrough in wartime matches before gaining his first professional contract at Liverpool in 1919. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Arsenal at Highbury in a Division 1 fixture on 8 September 1919, he opened his account 12 days later at Villa Park when his 30th-minute strike was the only goal of the game against Aston Villa. Forshaw continued to find the net on a regular basis and his goals helped the Anfield club gain back-to-back titles in 1922 and 1923, he was an ever-present in the 84 championship matches and scored a remarkable 36 goals, his average was a respectable goal every 2+1⁄3 games during this spell not at all bad for an inside-forward. Forshaw also topped the Liverpool scoring list in 1924–25 with 19 goals. The slim-built 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Forshaw was to have his best season in the red of Liverpool in 1925–26 when his return from the 35 matches he played was 29 goals, a goal every 1.2 games. This included a hat-trick against bitter rivals Manchester…

Liverpool F.C (1919–1927) 288 appearances 124 goals - Two Football League First Division Championship winners medals (1922 and 1923) Everton F.C (1927–1929) 42 appearances 8 goals - Football League First Division Championship winners medal (1930)