Mitchell Frank Image 1 Everton 1913

Description

Elgin, Moray born goalkeeper Frank Mitchell began his football career with Foundry Old Boys in 1908, playing for Milngavie Allander in 1909 and Maryhill in 1910 before joining Scottish League Motherwell in 1911. After a loan spell at Celtic in 1912, when he didn’t play a first team game, he joined First Division Everton in the summer of 1913, making his debut against Burnley that September. He played both sides of the First World War for Everton but in each of his three peacetime seasons he was largely back up to Tommy Fern, making only 2 League appearances as they won the League Championship in 1914-15, and playing 24 matches in total for The Toffees. The Liverpool Echo reported in March 1920 that the Scottish amateur international was “the only goalkeeper of the day to play in spectacles.” (note possibly an inadvertent reference to another goalkeeping Mitchell, James/Fred of Manchester City, who did play in spectacles).

In February 1921 he moved across Stanley Park to Liverpool for £1250, but he was never likely to displace the great Elisha Scott nor Scottish international Kenneth Campbell. He did enjoy a run of 15 consecutive First Division matches in the second half of the 1920-21 season, only being on the losing side three times. He figured on just three more occasions, the only games that Scott missed in the 1921-22 League Championship winning season. In 1921 the Derby Daily Telegraph said Mitchell was “quite a dapper figure… this canny Scot from Elgin. The Anfield club think the world of him, and rightly so, for he has a glorious knack of anticipation, and gets to shots in wonderful style.”

Mitchell broke his wrist playing forLiverpool reserves against Port Vale on 20th January 1923 and joined his third Merseyside club, Tranmere Rovers, in the summer. In 2 seasons at Prenton Park he made 63 appearances.  He finished his career with moves to non league Bangor City in 1925 and Blue Circle Cement a year later.