5’8” 11st.2lb.
b. Blackburn 12 November 1856
d. Blackburn 21 May 1897
 

Debut 29 March 1880 (23y 137d)  Final Game 8 December 1888 (31y 361d)
First Goal 18 April 1881 Final Goal 11 December 1887
CAREER: St John’s School;Blackburn Olympic '78;Blackburn Rovers Sum'83,Blackburn Olympic Sum'84;Blackburn Rovers Sum'87-'89;South Bank Aug '90-Sep’90.
INTERNATIONALS  England 3 apps
’84 v Sco,Wal,Ire.
HONOURS FAC win (Blackburn Rovers) ’84.
 

FL          8 apps
FAC     14 apps
Total    22 apps  et 30m
LC       14 apps
 

The Beverleys were no ordinary Blackburn family. The father, William, was a soldier who served for 37 years, born in Melbourne, Derbyshire and his wife Lavinia came from Okeford Fitzpaine in Dorset and had qualified as a midwife in Dublin. The couple had travelled, their first son was born in Newfoundland and the second in Chatham. By the time they settled in Blackburn, where Joe was born, William was a sergeant in the Chelsea Pensioners and worked as a winding master at the Brookhouse Mill. He was sixty when his third son was born. Joe Beverley helped form Black Star, a small local club, but did not play. When a merger was proposed with the James Street club he attended as the Black Star delegate and helped form the new club, Blackburn Olympic. He went to watch their first game and was asked to keep goal when the Olympic were short handed. At half time he was moved upfront and scored the only goal. From then on he was a footballer. A small man with a huge throw he found his best position at full back but was sometimes employed in the attack. Often rated as the best full back in football he had the misfortune to sometimes elect to play for the Rovers in the English Cup. In doing so he missed being present in 1883 when the Olympic brought the cup to Blackburn for the first time. The following season he gained compensation when the Rovers won the cup but by immediately returning to the Olympic he lost out on cup medals in the following two seasons. However he joined the Rovers again and played in the inaugural Football League season. He had started work in a warehouse but studied to become a fitter. For a spell he found work in the North-East area, where he played with South Bank. The club were inordinately proud of his brief presence and would suffix his name on the team sheet given to the Northern Echo with the word (international). He later returned to Blackburn, a move that horrendous consequences. Employed as a fitter at the Albion Mill in Livesey he sustained fatal head injuries when a machine toppled over. He left a widow and five children, the youngest being just five years old.