A year ago today (29 April 2025) Liverpool FC welcomed myself & several Manchester Corinthians to their women’s training facility at Melwood. The women who played for the Corinthians during the 50s-80s met the then current first team WSL squad of Liverpool; had a tour of the facilities; signed autographs (LFC wanted the Corinthians’ autographs and vice versa); and were given a wonderful lunch. I cannot stress highly enough how incredible the welcome was from LFC – all at LFC, not simply one or two people but everybody from security though to every area of the club.
The oldest Corinthian able to attend was 90 year old Centre-forward Mary Bee. Mary, along with Margaret Whitworth and Gill Holland who were also there, participated in a major international tournament in Venezuela in 1960 which the Corinthians won. She also played in the 1957 European Cup victory over Germany in Berlin (the Corinthians played as an unofficial England team). Others present today included players who had defeated Juventus in a major final in France in 1970.
Thank you Liverpool! It really was appreciated. Some photographs from the visit appear at the end of this article.
You can discover more on the Corinthians’ history (the facts not the fiction!) in my new book. Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History. The updated second edition will be available in October this year but if you order it before publication you can get your name published in a special roll of honour at the back of the book. This book is a must for anyone interested in Manchester or women’s football and consists of over 360 pages.
The book will be sent out to all subscribers on publication at the start of October 2026. This will be before it appears in any shop. Sadly, due to postage costs the book can only be posted to UK addresses. You do not need to have a PayPal account to order – use the ‘Pay with PayPal’ button below and it will give you the option to pay by credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account.
UK ONLY – one copy of Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History 2nd edition (paperback)
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is for one paperback book at £19.95 ()incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.
£19.95
Opportunities to buy multiple copies, sponsor the book or donate exist too. Please email Gary@GJFootballArchive.com for more information on those opportunities. For those wishing to order ten copies then a special panel will be included within the book thanking you for supporting the Corinthians’ project & book, plus you’ll get ten copies for the discounted total of £150 (including UK deliver).
UK ONLY – Ten copies of Manchester Corinthians: The Authorised History 2nd edition (paperback)
The story of a pioneering women’s club as told to Gary James by those who were there. This is for ten paperback books at £150 (incl UK postage and packaging). Outside UK contact for additional postage costs.
£150.00
Note: the cover is currently being redesigned and is likely to be different to the ones shown here.
If you’re wondering why the Corinthians are so important to football’s history you can also watch this free 18 minute film (including interviews with some of those at LFC today) now. You won’t be disappointed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=AWsGr3G_izE
Some photos from last year’s visit:
Gary James' Football Archive 