Born in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, Joe Mercer was the son of a former Nottingham Forest and Tranmere Rovers footballer ( also known as Joe). Joe Mercer Sr. Died following health complications from a gas attack during the Great War when his son was only 12. A young Joe Mercer now had a burning desire in his heart to follow his footsteps and make him proud.
Let us unfold the story of his time in football, and how he indeed made his father proud.
A wartime football great
Joe Mercer began his career as a left-half at Ellesmere Port Town. He excelled when it came to tackling and anticipating opponent moves. The Englishman soon joined Everton in 1932, at the age of 18.
The left-half quickly became a regular fixture of their 1935–36 side. He went on to make a total of 186 appearances for the Merseyside club. Their greatest achievement together came in the 1938–39 season. As Everton and Mercer clinched the League Championship. Mercer also earned 5 international caps while playing for Everton.
Similar to other players of his era, Mecer was yet another heartbreaking victim of the Second World War. This horrific event led to him losing 7 seasons of football. He soon became a sergeant-major and played in 26 wartime internationals, many of them as captain.
Mercer also had some issues with Everton manager Theo Kelly, who accused the player of not putting enough effort in a certain match. However, the truth was that Mercer was suffering from a severe cartilage injury. Even after consulting an orthopaedic specialist, the Everton management refused to believe him and Mercer had to pay for the surgery himself. It was an unfortunate incident that could've been avoided or resolved.
During the war era, Mercer also joined Chester City on a temporary basis. He made his debut in September 1942, as Chester beat Halifax Town 4-1.
Arsenal's majestic captain
It was in late 1946 that Mercer joined London side Arsenal, for a £9,000 transfer fee. One of the bizarre incidents that took place during the transfer was Everton Manager Theo Kelly bringing Mercer's boots to the transfer negotiations to prevent Mercer having a reason to go back to say goodbye to the other players at Everton.
Mercer's Arsenal debut came against Bolton Wanderers on November 30 1946. He was soon made the club captain as well. The left-half was a pivotal member during their transition period of the late 1940's, as he helped his side from the lower end of the table to win a League Championship title in 1947–48.
The year of 1950 led to further success for Mercer, who won the FA Cup with Arsenal and also got awarded the FWA Footballer of the Year. He led Arsenal to a Cup final in 1952 as well, but ended up losing the match 1-0 to Newcastle.
However, Mercer and his men overcame the heart break to clinch yet another league title in the 1952–53 season. It was an extremely close domestic campaign, which Arsenal ultimately won on goal difference.
Mercer initially decided to retire in May 1953, but he soon returned to Arsenal for the 1953–54 season. However, the left-half broke his leg in two places after a collision with teammate Joe Wade in a match against Liverpool on 10th April 1954. That was unfortunately the end of his magical playing career, as the injury forced him to call it a time. He bid farewell to the game in 1955.
Mercer later went on to become a manager, where he had a legendary run with Manchester City that saw them win 6 titles, including the 1967–68 First Division and 1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup. The England left-half indeed made his father proud, with an outstanding career that anyone would look at and admire.
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