113-601: Caldy (historically spelled Calday ) is a small, affluent village on the Wirral Peninsula , Merseyside , England, south-east of West Kirby . It is part of the West Kirby & Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West . At the time of the 2001 Census , Caldy had 1,290 inhabitants, of a total ward population of 12,869. It
226-600: A World Series . Hicks made headlines across all MLB when he personally negotiated and signed shortstop Alex Rodriguez to the biggest contract in MLB history at that time; a ten-year, $ 252 million deal at the December 2000 winter meetings. That contract, however, severely limited the Rangers' ability to sign other players, and they would have only two more winning seasons during Hicks' ownership. Years later, Hicks pointed to
339-644: A rugby union club, play at Paton Field in nearby Thurstaston . The team currently compete in the Championship , the second tier of the rugby union pyramid in England. Caldy Cricket Club play at Paton Field in nearby Thurstaston in the summer months. They currently field four Saturday teams in the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition . Caldy is at the junction of the B5140 and B5141 roads, and
452-434: A £4.5bn development around the docklands to be called Wirral Waters . The development is a mixture of industrial, office, residential and leisure facilities. Planning permission was granted in 2010 and work began on the site in 2011, with development work potentially lasting for 30 years. The Wirral can be defined both as a geographical peninsula and as a socio-cultural area. The current Metropolitan Borough of Wirral has
565-437: A Word Press blog site, with the first page advertising Online Gaming. Hicks was a member of the political action committee for the 2008 presidential election campaign for former Republican Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani . Hicks was previously neighbors with former U.S. President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush . Each neighbor’s property shared a boundary between Daria Place and Holloway Road, within
678-567: A bankruptcy court judge approved a bid by Vancouver businessman and Kamloops Blazers owner Tom Gaglardi to buy the team for $ 240 million. In June 1998, Hicks bought the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball ’s American League from an investment group managed by George W. Bush . Under Hicks' ownership, the Rangers won the American League West Division crown in 1998 and 1999, but failed to deliver
791-775: A benign environment. The opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894, with its outfall at Eastham, led to further port-side and industrial development beside the Mersey at Ellesmere Port. In 1886, the Mersey Railway tunnel was opened, linking the Wirral and Liverpool. This led to the further rapid growth of suburbs in the Wirral, particularly in Wallasey, Hoylake and West Kirby, and later Bebington and Heswall. Wallasey's population grew to over 53,000 by 1901, and
904-655: A charter from Edward III. At this time, large areas of Wirral were owned by Chester Abbey. In 1278 the Abbey was granted the right to hold an annual three-day fair at Bromborough, but the fair declined after the Black Death in 1349. Another fair was established in 1299 at Burton . Meanwhile, Meols continued as an important port, and the eroded coastline there has provided what is described as "the largest collection of medieval domestic items to have come from any single site outside London" . A Subsidy Roll of 1545 shows that
1017-400: A deal that is clearly worse than Crane's." The bankruptcy court ordered a public auction to be held on August 4, 2010, and the winning bid was submitted by Greenberg / Ryan . Co-lead investors Ray Davis and Bob R. Simpson were named co-chairmen. In March 2011, Greenberg resigned as chief executive, sold his interest, and Nolan Ryan was named president and chief executive officer. Ryan
1130-668: A gated community of Preston Hollow , Dallas, Texas respectively. Tom Hicks Elementary School in Frisco, Texas , part of the Lewisville Independent School District , was given its name after Hicks donated the land for the school. Hicks moved from the business pages to the sports section in December 1995 when he bought the National Hockey League Dallas Stars for $ 82 million. Hicks contracted to purchase
1243-541: A hearth used by a hunter-gatherer community. Other evidence from about the same period has been found at Irby , Hoylake and New Brighton . Later Neolithic stone axes and pottery have been found in Oxton , Neston , and Meols . At Meols and New Brighton there is evidence of occupation through to the Bronze Age , around 1,000 BC, and funerary urns of the period have been found at West Kirby and Hilbre . Before
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#17327824693801356-471: A higher offer by Jim Crane and stated they would not sign off on the deal. Hicks has been sued by three different parties over the land adjacent to the stadium that was sold in a separate transaction as a part of the purchase by Greenberg and Ryan. On May 24, 2010, HSG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection/separation of the Texas Rangers from HSG and asked the courts to approve of the sale of
1469-487: A mantle of glacial till , a legacy of the last ice age . Wind-blown sands cover the northern coastal margin. Low ground behind these sand are reclaimed tidal flat deposits which also extend into the heavily modified Birket which occupies a buried bedrock channel. This channel and others beneath the Dee and Mersey estuaries were formed in part by the southeasterly movement of Irish Sea Ice during successive ice ages. Low cliffs of
1582-453: A minority share holder in the new ownership group. Prior to bids being placed by potential buyers, Hicks told the media the Rangers were operating under normal business with no interference from MLB. Regarding the Rangers' inability to sign 2009 first round pick Matt Purke , he said, "We were disappointed that the family insisted on $ 6 million. The Texas Rangers were not willing to do that. It had nothing to do with MLB restrictions. There
1695-423: A new oil dock was built at Stanlow near Ellesmere Port, and in 1934 oil refining began there. A large chemical and oil refining complex still dominates the area. In 1929, the 3rd World Scout Jamboree was held at Arrowe Park and this celebrated the 21st Anniversary of the publication of Scouting for Boys . Thirty-five countries were represented by 30,000 Scouts , plus another 10,000 British Scouts who took
1808-472: A population of 312,293 (according to the 2001 census ), and covers an area of 60.35 sq mi (156.3 km ), bounded by the Cheshire Plain , the Dee and the Mersey. The Irish Sea lies to its north west side. The peninsula is formed almost wholly from sedimentary bedrock of Triassic age, being sandstone , mudstones and siltstones . Strata exposed at or near the modern surface include
1921-490: A result of that we [my family] have received many phone calls in the middle of the night threatening our lives, death threats. A number came to the office and my son, Foster, and daughter-in-law, Lauren, have received them." On April 16, 2010, the club was put up for sale. Hicks claimed that he believed the club had tripled in value during his tenure, and boasted that he would be looking for a price of four times what he purchased his stake for. He claimed that, "Liverpool will be
2034-448: A sale price for the team and emailed the creditors on December 31, 2009 saying, "Basically, the response from the MLB was to prohibit us from negotiating with anyone other than Greenberg. Their intent seems to be to lock us into Greenberg even though Crane now has a clearly superior economic deal – and may always have had based on Greenberg's current position. We need help here. Unless the lenders weigh in, we are going to be stuck negotiating
2147-545: A vehicle for his sports and real estate empire, and then started buying companies again in the $ 10 to $ 250 million level, including: a Chinese electronics firm, a venture with DirecTV selling bundled TV-telecom services to condos, a landscaping materials company in the Midwest, a pet food firm in Argentina , and Gammaloy – an oil field rental outfit he bought from his wife's family, paying approximately $ 20 million in
2260-410: Is a clear misimpression we didn't sign Matt Purke because MLB wouldn't let us. That's not true. We didn't because of Tom Hicks, Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels. We were not willing to go to $ 6 million." After his group had completed the purchase agreement, Ryan told the media the Rangers were unable to offer the first round pick the $ 6 million signing bonus both parties had verbally agreed upon after
2373-571: Is also seen as an east–west divide between the affluent and developing areas of the Wirral. Despite containing urban and industrial areas, the Wirral still has picturesque villages, sandy beaches, large areas of land owned by the National Trust , as well as views across the two estuaries and out into the Irish Sea. Wirral Council has identified over 130 public access points within its administrative area to beaches and to open water. Among
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#17327824693802486-574: Is near to the A540 . The nearest railway station to Caldy is West Kirby , on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network after Caldy railway station was closed in 1954. Caldy is noted for having many well-known residents, particularly those connected to professional football , such as Robbie Fowler and Rafael Benítez . Rafael Benitez in a press conference referred to "John the milkman" in
2599-418: Is pursuing a (max.) £1 billion suit against NESV and Kop Holdings for damages, claiming that, "This outcome... devalues the club..." and suggesting that he had been the victim of an "epic swindle". From the time the club had been put up for sale, however, it had been widely reported that the fee that Hicks and Gillett were asking for was unlikely to be achieved. The Wall Street Journal pointed out that
2712-585: Is supposed that the land was once overgrown with bog myrtle, a plant no longer found in the area, but plentiful around Formby , to which the Wirral would once have had a similar habitat . The name was given to the Hundred of Wirral (or Wilaveston) around the 8th century. The earliest evidence of human occupation of the Wirral dates from the Mesolithic period, around 12,000 BC. Excavations at Greasby have uncovered flint tools, signs of stake holes and
2825-560: The Liverpool Echo , "This is the start of a new era. A lot has been taken off the club’s shoulders now. Good riddance to Hicks and Gillett." Former Liverpool player Tommy Smith expressed his joy at the departure of Hicks and Gillett in his regular newspaper column: "But today they are out of our club – and I’m as happy as every one of the Liverpool fans who’ve made it clear they’re so sick of them. All they were ever interested in
2938-596: The Backford gap, and the town of Ellesmere Port began to develop. The excavation of the New Cut of the Dee, opened in 1737, to improve access to Chester, diverted the river's course to the Welsh side of the estuary and took trade away from the Wirral coastline. Although plans were made to overcome its gradual silting up, including one in 1857 to cut a ship canal from a point between Thurstaston and Heswall to run along
3051-592: The Blitz , parts of the Wirral, especially around the docks, suffered extensive bomb damage. There were 464 people killed in Birkenhead and 355 in Wallasey, and 80% of all houses in Birkenhead were either destroyed or badly damaged. During the Second World War, the Wirral held two RAF sites, RAF West Kirby (which was a camp, not an airfield) and RAF Hooton Park and a number of anti-aircraft sites to protect
3164-552: The Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight and the Williamson Art Gallery in Birkenhead. The historical sites include Birkenhead Priory , Leasowe Lighthouse , Hadlow Road railway station and the buildings and ancient carvings on Bidston Hill . For reasons that are both social and geographical, accents on the east side of the Wirral tend to show a stronger Merseyside influence than those on
3277-678: The Local Government Act 1972 , only the southern third has been in Cheshire, with almost all the rest lying in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral , Merseyside . An area of saltmarsh and reclaimed land adjoining the south-west of the peninsula lies in the Welsh county of Flintshire . The name Wirral literally means " myrtle corner", from the Old English wir , a myrtle tree, and heal , an angle, corner or slope. It
3390-680: The National Hockey League (NHL) franchise from Norman Green in December 1995. During his tenure as owner of the club, Hicks was the Stars' Chairman of the Board and the club's representative on the NHL Board of Governors. Hicks played an instrumental role in the development and planning of American Airlines Center . Under his ownership, the Stars won seven division titles, two Western Conference crowns, two Presidents' Trophies (as
3503-665: The Norsemen and the Scots , and thus historians consider it the birthplace of England. The battle site covered a large area of the Wirral. Egil's Saga , a story which tells of the battle, may have referred to the Wirral as Wen Heath, Vínheíþr in Icelandic . After invading England in 1066 and subduing Northumbria in 1069–1070, William the Conqueror invaded and ravaged Chester and its surrounding area, laying waste to much of
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3616-540: The Sigma Phi Epsilon social fraternity. Hicks became interested in leveraged buyouts as a member of First National Bank of Dallas's venture capital group. Hicks and Robert Haas formed Hicks & Haas in 1984. The next year that firm bought Hicks Communications, a radio outfit run by Hicks' brother Steven – the first of several media companies bought or created by the buyout firm that involved Steven (Capstar, Chancellor, and AMFM). Hicks & Haas' in
3729-528: The 18th century the Wirral side of the Mersey had five ferry houses, at Seacombe , Woodside , the Rock , New Ferry and Eastham. Other communications were also improving. Turnpike roads linking Chester with Eastham, Woodside, and Neston were built after 1787. In 1793, work began on the Ellesmere Canal , connecting the Mersey with Chester and Shropshire through the fluvioglacial landform known as
3842-537: The 1990s. Additionally, he formed Hicks Acquisition Company I, Inc. (HACI). In September 2009, HACI merged into Resolute Energy Corporation (REN), an oil and gas firm. Hicks does not sit on REN's board of directors, but his son, Thomas O. Hicks, Jr. , represents HACI on the board. As of August 13, 2010, the website for Hicks Sports Group appears to have disappeared. As for other websites for Hicks companies, while they are still operating, they appear to be empty of any data and Hicks Sports Marketing now appears to be
3955-579: The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 during the scene where Harry and Hagrid escape on a flying motorcycle and pass through the tunnel. The scene was filmed while the tunnel was closed for repairs. The 2013 film Fast & Furious 6 tunnel chase scene was filmed in the Queensway Tunnel. The unused Birkenhead Dock branch of the Queensway Tunnel was filmed as a New York underpass in the 2014 movie Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit . In October 2017,
4068-568: The Dee Estuary nature reserve. Places of architectural interest include Hamilton Square , Rock Park and Port Sunlight . The view of the buildings on Liverpool's Pier Head when crossing on the Mersey Ferry is famous. Many villages of the Wirral such as Burton are also well preserved with their characteristic red sandstone buildings and walls. The old port of Parkgate also attracts many visitors. The arts are well represented by
4181-684: The Dee and Mersey estuaries, Irish Sea and... the route of the Shropshire Union Canal between Ellesmere Port and Chester". This definition extends the original hundred slightly further east, to the River Gowy. The Shropshire Union Canal joins the Mersey at Ellesmere Port and the Dee at Chester. This canal technically makes the peninsula an island. In the north of the peninsula, the River Fender , Arrowe Brook and Greasby Brook drain into The Birket , which itself flows into
4294-571: The Hiberno-Scandinavian settlement of the Wirral peninsula in its account of the immigration of Ingimundr near Chester. This Irish source places this settlement in the aftermath of the Vikings' expulsion from Dublin in 902, and an unsuccessful attempt to settle on Anglesey soon afterwards. Following these setbacks, Ingimundr is stated to have settled near Chester with the consent of Æthelflæd , co-ruler of Mercia . The boundary of
4407-537: The Kinnerton Sandstone at Burton Point are part of a relict shoreline, the Dee estuary having silted up during the post-glacial period. The former coast can be traced from Blacon northwest to Burton Point and thence to Parkgate where spring tides still reach the historic coastline. A well developed glacial drainage channel , known as the Deva Spillway cuts across the base of the peninsula between
4520-520: The Rangers to the group headed by Greenberg and Ryan. The move was made to expedite the sale and resolve the sale prior to the MLB trade deadline and draft signing deadline. Ironically, Alex Rodriguez was the largest unsecured creditor, owed nearly $ 25 million in deferred payments despite being traded six years earlier. Emails presented in court show that after Hicks agreed to an exclusive negotiation period with Greenberg attorneys for HSG were still in discussion with another bidder, Dennis Crane, about
4633-594: The River Mersey via Wallasey Pool (Birkenhead Docks). Further south, the Clatter Brook and Dibbinsdale Brook drain into the Mersey at Bromborough Pool . Two approximately parallel sandstone ridges run down the length of the peninsula. The western ridge is made up of Grange and Caldy Hills at 256 feet in height, then Thurstaston Hill (298 ft), Poll Hill in Heswall (350 ft, the highest point on
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4746-510: The Romans founded Chester . Evidence of their occupation on the Wirral has been found, including the remains of a road near Mollington , Ledsham and Willaston . This road may have continued to the port at Meols, which may have been used as a base for attacking the north Wales coast. Storeton Quarry may also have been used by Romans for materials for sculpture. Remains of possible Roman roads have also been found at Greasby and at Bidston . By
4859-577: The Stars went into bankruptcy the following year. The son of a Texas radio station owner, Hicks was born in Port Arthur, Texas , and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School , in Port Arthur, in 1964. Hicks received his bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Texas in 1968, and received his MBA from the University of Southern California in 1970. He is a member of
4972-555: The Viking colony is believed to have passed south of Neston and Raby , and along Dibbinsdale . Evidence of Norse speech on the Wirral can still be seen from place name evidence – such as the common -by (meaning "village" in Scandinavian languages) – suffixes and names such as Tranmere , which comes from trani melr (" cranebird sandbank"). Viking Age sculpture corroborates this. Recent Y-DNA research has also revealed
5085-770: The Wirral , is a peninsula in North West England . The roughly rectangular peninsula is about 15 miles (24 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool Bay to the north. Historically, the Wirral was wholly in Cheshire ; in the Domesday Book , its border with the rest of the county was placed at "two arrow falls from Chester city walls". However, since
5198-694: The Wirral Peninsula, on the eastern side of the Dee Estuary . The village is approximately 3.5 km (2.2 mi) south-south-east of the Irish Sea at Hoylake and about 11 km (6.8 mi) west-south-west of the River Mersey at Woodside . The centre of the village has an elevation of about 44 m (144 ft) above sea level. Calday Grange Grammar School is between Caldy and West Kirby, with West Kirby Grammar School and Hilbre High School nearby. Caldy Rugby Football Club ,
5311-416: The Wirral is Cilgwri . In Welsh mythology , the ouzel (or blackbird ) of Cilgwri was one of the most ancient creatures in the world. The Anglo-Saxons under Æthelfrith , king of Northumbria , laid waste to Chester around 616. Æthelfrith withdrew, leaving the area west and south of the Mersey to become part of Mercia , and Anglo-Saxon settlers took over the Wirral except the northern tip. Many of
5424-725: The Wirral while launching a cryptic attack on previous Liverpool club owner Tom Hicks and managing director Christian Purslow . The poet and novelist Malcolm Lowry lived in Caldy as a child, as did his brother the England rugby player Wilfrid Lowry , and the science fiction author Olaf Stapledon lived in Caldy from 1940 until his death in 1950. Sir Cyril Clarke KBE, FRCP, FRCOG, (Hon) FRC Path, FRS, physician, geneticist and lepidopterist, lived in Caldy for many years until his death in November 2000. Wirral Peninsula The Wirral Peninsula ( / ˈ w ɪr əl / ), known locally as
5537-514: The Wirral's Mersey coast for industrialisation. The 1820s saw the birth of the area's renowned shipbuilding tradition when William Laird opened his shipyard in Birkenhead , later expanded by his son John Laird . The Lairds were largely responsible for the early growth of Birkenhead, commissioning the architect James Gillespie Graham to lay it out as a new town modelled on Edinburgh . In 1847, Birkenhead's first docks and its municipal park ,
5650-477: The Wirral's villages, such as Willaston, Eastham and Sutton , were established and named at this time. Towards the end of the 9th century, Vikings began raiding the area. They settled along the Dee side of the peninsula, and along the sea coast, giving their villages names such as Kirby , Greasby and Meols. They introduced their own local government system with a parliament at Thingwall . The pseudo-historical Fragmentary Annals of Ireland appears to record
5763-454: The Wirral) and Burton (222 ft). The less continuous eastern ridge consists of Bidston Hill (231 ft), Prenton (259 ft) and Storeton Hill (229 ft). The shallow Fender valley runs between these ridges. The Wirral features a temperate maritime climate ( Köppen : Cfb ) with mild summers, cool winters and rainfall spread evenly throughout the year. A weather station
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#17327824693805876-518: The Wirral. James Atherton and William Rowson developed the resort of New Brighton , and new estates for the gentry were also built at Egremont , Oxton , Claughton and Rock Ferry. Arrowe Hall was built for the Shaw family in 1835. In the mid-19th century docks were established at Birkenhead and in the Wallasey Pool, and continuing development for a wide range of industry both there and along
5989-629: The Wirral. The Domesday survey of 1086 shows that the Wirral then was more densely populated than most of England, and the manor of Eastham , which covered most of the east of the peninsula from Bidston to the River Gowy , was the second largest in Cheshire. Of the 28 former lords of the Wirral manors listed, 12 bore Norse names. By 1086, most of the area was in the hands of Norman lords such as Robert of Rhuddlan , his cousin Hugh d'Avranches , and Hamo de Mascy . The survey shows 405 family heads living in
6102-719: The Wirral: notably, Ellesmere Port is often described as one of its "border towns". For regional economic planning, the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is considered part of the Liverpool City Region . There are many towns and villages on the Wirral. Those administered by the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral are listed in List of towns and villages in Wirral (borough) . Those also on the Wirral but administered by Cheshire West and Chester include: The M53
6215-410: The areas of open land are Bidston Hill , Caldy Hill , Eastham Country Park , including the Victorian Pleasure Gardens, Hilbre Island , North Wirral Coastal Park , Thurstaston Common and Thor's Stone and the Wirral Way . Ness Botanical Gardens are part of the University of Liverpool and have won many awards. The visitor centre at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands provides birdwatching facilities in
6328-446: The asking price of £600–800 million took no account of the fact that a new owner would have to spend £375 million building the new stadium which Hicks and Gillett had promised and failed to deliver. The Daily Telegraph suggested that Hicks and Gillett were unlikely to achieve their estimated price because everyone knew that there was huge debt at the club and that these debts were due to be called in very shortly, meaning that
6441-404: The bankers would subsequently put the club into administration and then sell off the club at a bargain price anyway. The likelihood of the club being placed in administration increased once, on September 7, 2010, the Royal Bank of Scotland , Hicks's main creditor, placed the Texan's indebtedness in the toxic debt category as he was considered unable to find refinancing or to pay off the debt. In
6554-464: The banks of the Mersey. The New Chester Road was opened in 1833. The Wirral's first railway was built in 1840, planned by George Stephenson and connecting Birkenhead with Chester . In 1852 Price's Patent Candle Company built a factory and model village at Bromborough. This was followed in 1888 by William Lever 's establishment of the much larger Sunlight soap factory and Port Sunlight garden village, designed to house its employees and provide them with
6667-431: The blockbuster contract as "one of his biggest regrets". The Rangers also spent a large amount of money on Chan Ho Park , who signed a $ 65 million contract with the Rangers following the 2001 season. The Park signing would be a disaster for the Rangers as the new "staff ace" was unable to adjust to the move from pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium to the hitter-friendly American League. After finishing in last place for
6780-412: The club's debt was too great but argued that he had not been given sufficient time by his main creditor, the Royal Bank of Scotland, to repay the debt: "It has a little bit too much debt, no question. But we were going to fix that and we were frustrated by others." He has also suggested that the Royal Bank of Scotland prevented him paying back the debt to them: "I can't go into the details but I can confirm
6893-442: The club, Hicks and Gillett made a joint declaration: "Liverpool is a fantastic club with a remarkable history and a passionate fanbase. We fully acknowledge and appreciate the unique heritage and rich history of Liverpool and intend to respect this heritage in the future." Hicks stated his foremost priority was gaining silverware, and vowed to build a new stadium for the club at Stanley Park Stadium . The preexisting plans to build
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#17327824693807006-429: The club, Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League in 2005 and the FA Cup in 2006 under manager Rafael Benítez. In the three-and-a-half years in which Hicks and Gillett owned the club, they won not a single trophy, and at the time they left Liverpool, the club were in the relegation zone of the Premier League standings. Hicks denied this claim, declaring that during his reign Liverpool's net spend on player transfers
7119-411: The club. On March 7, 2008, it was reported that Gillett had agreed to sell 98% of his Liverpool stock to DIC, but Hicks blocked the sale. In an interview on Prime Time Sports in Canada, Gillett revealed that he and his family had received death threats from angry Liverpool fans: "The fans don't want him [Tom Hicks] to have even one share of my stake in the club, based on what they are sending to me. As
7232-451: The division three consecutive seasons with Rodriguez, Hicks agreed to trade to the New York Yankees before the 2004 season. As part of the agreement, the Rangers would supplement a portion of his remaining contract. This agreement would continue until Rodriguez opted out of his contract in 2007. On January 23, 2010, it was announced Hicks had agreed to sell the Rangers to a group led by Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan . Hicks would have been
7345-406: The docks of Birkenhead and Liverpool. After the Second World War , economic decline began in the older industries in the area which had started to become known as Merseyside. However, there continued to be industrial development along the Mersey between Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port, including the large Vauxhall Motors car factory on the site of RAF Hooton Park. Plans were announced in 2006 for
7458-435: The draft because MLB, who were strictly overseeing the Rangers budget by this time, would not approve the amount needed to sign Purke. After the announcement of the pending sale by Hicks Sports Group (HSG), several additional hurdles occurred which had to be remedied before the sale of the team could be finalized. Several of the lenders, who were owed over $ 500 million, vocally objected to the deal accusing Hicks of rejecting
7571-407: The end of the Roman period, pirates were a menace to traders in the Irish Sea , and soldiers may have been garrisoned at Meols to combat this threat. Although Roman rule ended with the departure of the last Roman troops in 410, later coins and other material found at Meols show that it continued to operate as a trading port. Evidence of Celtic Christianity from the 5th or 6th centuries is shown in
7684-430: The end, none of the offers made were anywhere close to Hicks and Gillett's valuation and with the threat of administration looming the club was sold for £300 million. This meant that the sale in 2010 fetched £80 million more than Hicks and Gillett had paid for the club in 2007, but because more than £200 million worth of debt had been piled on to the club, resulting in huge interest rates and penalty payments,
7797-472: The first in Britain and the inspiration for New York's Central Park , were opened, and the town expanded rapidly. Bolstered by migration from Ireland, Wales and rural Cheshire, Birkenhead's population of less than one thousand in 1801 rose to over 33,000 by 1851, and to 157,000 by 1901. The town became a borough in 1877, incorporating within it Oxton and Tranmere. The improved communications also allowed Liverpool merchants to buy up and develop large estates on
7910-447: The following (in stratigraphic order i.e. uppermost/youngest at top): A small outcrop of Carboniferous rocks occurs around Little Neston, being an extension of the Flintshire Coalfield across the Dee estuary. These Coal Measures rocks were formerly exploited by a small mining operation . The strata have a slight, generally easterly dip and are cut by numerous extensional faults most of which are aligned broadly north–south. For
8023-461: The forest laws was a chief forester who was appointed with a ceremonial horn , and the position soon became a hereditary responsibility of the Stanley family . However, after complaints from minor Wirral landowners about the wildness of the area and oppression by the Stanleys, Edward the Black Prince as Earl of Chester agreed to a charter confirming the disafforestation of the Wirral, shortly before his death from amoebic dysentery . The proclamation
8136-588: The funds were available to pay off Royal Bank of Scotland entirely but between Royal Bank of Scotland, the chairman and the employees that conspired against us, they would not let us." After more legal trouble with his other sports team, Hicks decided not to pursue his claims of a conspiracy against him. On January 11, 2013, Hicks and Gillett finally decided to drop their case in the English law courts against Sir Martin Broughton , Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre ,
8249-440: The game between Liverpool and Aston Villa protested against Gillett and Hicks' running of the club, urging the pair to sell their shares in Liverpool to Dubai International Capital (DIC). Neither owner, nor their representative Foster Gillett, was present at the game. George Gillett was reportedly targeted by DIC to sell his shares. It was reported that he had fallen out with Hicks and he subsequently kept silent over his dealings with
8362-522: The genetic trail left by Scandinavians on the Wirral, specifically relatively high rates of the haplogroup R1a , associated in Britain with Scandinavian ancestry. Bromborough on the Wirral is also one of the possible sites of an epic battle in 937, the Battle of Brunanburh , which confirmed England as an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. This is the first battle where England united to fight the combined forces of
8475-532: The investment firm, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst with former Prudential Securities banker John Muse. The firm raised $ 250 million, with early investments including a life insurance company, Life Partners Group (bought in 1990 and sold in 1996). In 1991, Morgan Stanley 's Charles Tate and First Boston 's Jack Furst became partners. Hicks was chairman from 1989 to 2004, Hicks Muse raised $ 12 billion of private equity funds, consummated over $ 50 billion of leveraged acquisitions, and grew to become one of
8588-546: The investment firm, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst , previously owned 50% of the English football club Liverpool F.C. , and is chairman of Hicks Holdings LLC, which owns and operates Hicks Sports Group, the company that formerly owned the Texas Rangers , the Dallas Stars , and the Mesquite Championship Rodeo . In 2010, Hicks was forced to sell the Rangers and Liverpool to satisfy his creditors, and
8701-598: The largest private investment firms in the country. But Hicks Muse hit a rough patch by the early 2000s, when investors in Equity Fund IV were burned by a $ 1.2 billion plunge into telecom investments in 1999. Hicks announced that he would leave the Hicks Muse on March 8, 2004, to spend more time with his family and his sports teams. (Hicks Muse was subsequently renamed HM Capital Partners.) He has remained active in his own ventures. He created Hicks Holdings ,
8814-451: The length of the Wirral to Chester, this and other schemes came to nothing, and the focus of general trade moved irrevocably to the much deeper Mersey. However, from the late 18th century there was coal mining near Neston, in tunnels stretching up to two miles (three kilometres) under the Dee, and a quay at Denhall was used for coal exports. The first steam ferry service across the Mersey started in 1817, and steam-powered ships soon opened up
8927-458: The loans taken out as part of the leveraged buy-out. Christian Purslow , managing director of Liverpool since June 2009, publicly stated in September 2010 that the debt was an important burden for the club because it limited investment in players: "The issue is that too much of that profit is being used to service loans put into place when the club was bought." Hicks admitted after the sale that
9040-491: The mid-1980s bought several soft drink makers, including Dr Pepper and 7 Up . The firm took Dr Pepper/7 Up public just 18 months after merging the two companies. In all, Hicks & Haas turned $ 88 million of investor funding into $ 1.3 billion. The pair went their separate ways in May 1989. He wanted to raise large pools to invest, while Haas preferred to work with investors deal by deal. In 1989, Hicks co-founded
9153-473: The most part the bedrock is poorly exposed being covered by superficial deposits of Quaternary age. Notable exposures of the Helsby Sandstone occur at Bidston Hill and at Red Rocks at the northwestern tip of the Wirral along with the tidal islands at Hilbre . Elsewhere Mercia Mudstone rocks outcrop prominently at Caldy Hill, Thurstaston Common and Heswall Dales. Much of the Wirral is covered by
9266-465: The most profitable investment I've ever made." On June 16, 2010, Liverpool Walton MP Steve Rotheram tabled a motion in the House of Commons expressing dismay at the continuing ownership of the club. Hicks and Gillett were described as " asset strippers " and the club was being "drained by their greed". In October 2010, as part of a fans' campaign against the ownership, a video entitled Dear Mr Hicks
9379-712: The opportunity to camp in the vicinity. The rail tunnel under the Mersey was supplemented by a vehicle tunnel in 1934, the Queensway Tunnel . A third tunnel opened in 1971, the Kingsway Tunnel , connecting with the M53 motorway which now runs up the centre of the peninsula. These new roads contributed to the massive growth of commuting by car between Liverpool and the Wirral, and the development of new suburban estates around such villages as Moreton , Upton, Greasby, Pensby , and Bromborough. In 1940–1941, as part of
9492-452: The originally circular shape of churchyards at Bromborough , Woodchurch and elsewhere, and also in the dedication of the parish church at Wallasey to a 4th-century bishop, Hilary of Poitiers . The Celtic names of Liscard and Landican (from Llandecwyn ) both suggest an ancient British origin. The name of Wallasey, meaning "Welsh (or foreigners') island", is evidence of British settlement. The Welsh name, both ancient and modern, for
9605-410: The outgoing owners ended up losing an estimated £144 million on their investment. Liverpool fans were delighted to hear that the club had been sold. Steve Horner, from the fans' group Kop Faithful, declared, "It’s like a huge cloud has been lifted off us... Hicks and Gillett leave with no legacy, apart from one of chaos." The chairman of Liverpool Supporters Club, Richie Pedder, announced to
9718-451: The owners fell out with each other and engaged in public battles with Parry and Benítez. Anger was also directed at the Hicks family when Tom Hicks' son, Thomas O. Hicks, Jr. , had to resign from the Liverpool board of directors after sending an abusive e-mail to a Liverpool fan saying, "Blow me fuck face. Go to hell. I'm sick of you." On January 22, 2008, a majority of Liverpool fans at
9831-537: The parish of Bebington) and Liscard, and were the same size as small rural villages. The Wirral's proximity to the port of Chester influenced the history of the Dee side of the peninsula. From about the 14th century, Chester provided facilities for trade with Ireland, Spain, and Germany, and seagoing vessels would "lay to" in the Dee awaiting favourable winds and tides. As the Dee started to silt up, harbouring facilities developed at Shotwick, Burton, Neston, Parkgate , Dawpool , and "Hoyle Lake" or Hoylake . However, there
9944-524: The parish was abolished and local government reorganisation in England and Wales resulted in most of Wirral, including Caldy, transfer from the county of Cheshire to Merseyside. Caldy railway station was on the Hooton to West Kirby branch of the Chester and Birkenhead Railway . The station closed in 1954 and the trackbed is now the 'Wirral Way' of Wirral Country Park . Caldy is on the western side of
10057-566: The peninsula, suggesting a total population of 2,000–3,000. The Earls of Chester ruled the whole of the County Palatine , including the Wirral, almost as "a kingdom within a kingdom" for about 250 years. Between 1120 and 1123, Earl Ranulph le Meschin made several edicts that converted the Wirral into a hunting forest . This made the area subject to Forest Law which made the hunting of game, such as deer and boar , by unauthorised persons subject to harsh penalties. To enforce
10170-417: The population of the Wirral was no more than 4,000. The peninsula was divided into 15 parishes (Wallasey, Bidston, Upton , Woodchurch, West Kirby, Thurstaston , Heswall , Bebington , Bromborough, Eastham, Neston , Burton, Shotwick , Backford and Stoke ). Most parishes were subdivided into smaller townships, of which the largest in terms of population were Neston, Burton, Wallasey, Tranmere (then within
10283-447: The stadium were revised but the stadium never materialized. Hicks became extremely unpopular among Liverpool fans for his failure to deliver on the promise of a new stadium or on the promise that no debt would be placed onto the club and for his allegedly misleading statements about planned and past investment in players. During Hicks and Gillett's period of ownership, Liverpool became associated with frequent boardroom wranglings as
10396-562: The team with the best regular season record), two consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Finals and the 1999 Stanley Cup championship . In April 2010, Hicks' company defaulted on $ 525 million in bank loans backed by the Stars and a 50% interest in the American Airlines Center. On September 13, 2011, lenders voted to agree to have the Stars file for bankruptcy and sold at auction. On November 22, 2011,
10509-413: The three directors on the club's board of directors at the time of the sale of the club to NESV; they also agreed to drop their case against NESV and RBS Bank. The terms of the agreement are confidential, though it is believed that no monies were paid to Hicks or Gillett. Earlier in the week, Hicks and Gillett had lost a Court of Appeal bid to delay a High Court trial so they could have more time to raise
10622-669: The time of the Romans , the Wirral was inhabited by a Celtic tribe, the Cornovii . Artefacts discovered in Meols suggest it was an important port from at least 500 BC. Traders came from Gaul and the Mediterranean localities to seek minerals from North Wales and Cheshire. There are remains of a small Iron Age fort at Burton , for which the town was named ( burh tūn being Old English for "fort town"). Around AD 70,
10735-479: The town also achieved borough status soon after the turn of the century. The dockland areas of Wallasey and Birkenhead continued to develop and prosper in the first half of the century, specialising in trade with Africa and the Far East. A host of other port-related industries then came into existence, such as flour milling, tanning, edible oil refining and the manufacture of paint and rubber-based products. In 1922
10848-493: The tunnel branch was used for the filming of the drama, Bulletproof , starring Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters . Scenes for the 2016 film Florence Foster Jenkins , starring Hugh Grant and Meryl Streep , were filmed around New Brighton. In television, sitcom Watching , produced by Granada Television between 1987 and 1993, was partly set and filmed at various Wirral locations, particularly Meols . More recently, Mike Bassett: Manager , starring Ricky Tomlinson
10961-430: The twentieth century, Caldy was effectively a farming and agricultural village. However, The Caldy Manor Estates Company divided the land into smaller building plots, and from this one of the north of England's most exclusive residential villages emerged. In 1866 Caldy became a separate civil parish , between 1894 and 1933, Caldy was part of Wirral Rural District , then subsequently Wirral Urban District . On 1 April 1974
11074-401: The two estuaries on either side of the Wirral and is interpreted as having played a major part in the deglaciation of the region in late-glacial/post-glacial times. Although it has been stated that "it is difficult to find any work in which there is a written description of the exact area defining the Wirral Peninsula", historian Stephen Roberts defines it as "the peninsula which is bounded by
11187-707: The west side. Neston once had a distinctive dialect derived from the migrant workers at the Denhall Colliery. The Wirral has hosted a variety of different films and television programmes. Chariots of Fire was filmed at various locations on the Wirral including the Oval Sports Centre, Bebington , the Woodside Ferry Terminal, and Bridge Cottage in Port Sunlight village, while the 1950 Ealing comedy The Magnet
11300-572: Was a follow-up to the film Mike Bassett: England Manager , and featured a fictional football club called Wirral County, a parody of Tranmere Rovers , who Bassett (Tomlinson) managed after being sacked from the England job. Tom Hicks Thomas Ollis Hicks Sr. (born February 7, 1946), is an American private equity investor and sports team owner living in Dallas, Texas . Forbes magazine estimated Hicks' wealth at $ 1 billion in 2009, but it dropped to $ 700 million in 2010. Hicks co-founded
11413-438: Was believed to be the front-runner after Dubai International Capital (DIC) withdrew their bid. On February 6, 2007, Hicks and Gillett's joint offer for Liverpool was formally accepted, valuing the club at £218.9 million ($ 432.9M) (£5,000 per share and £44.8M in debt). Liverpool became the third Premier League club to be acquired by American businessmen, the others being Aston Villa and Manchester United . When taking over
11526-405: Was claimed that the video was watched 400 000 times in 42 hours. On October 15, 2010, Hicks lost ownership of Liverpool. Despite numerous attempts to prevent it, the club was sold to New England Sports Ventures (NESV), for a fee believed to be around £300 million, which was far below Hicks' valuation of "between £600M and £1 billion (B)", by the club's board of directors in a 3–2 vote. Hicks
11639-537: Was filmed in Wallasey and New Brighton. The 51st State was partly filmed around the docks in Birkenhead. Awaydays , based on a novel of the same name by Kevin Sampson , was filmed extensively on the Wirral. In 2012 the movie Blood , starring Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham was filmed on the Wirral. The Queensway Tunnel in Birkenhead is also featured in the Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and
11752-552: Was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 as being owned by Hugh of Mere and being named ‘Calders’. Nearby is a large area of National Trust land called Caldy Hill . Many of the houses and walls in the village centre are built from the local red sandstone . Caldy was a township in the West Kirby parish of the Wirral Hundred . The population was 92 in 1801, 142 in 1851, 202 in 1901 and 607 in 1951. Until
11865-509: Was in development, but this never materialized. In 2003, after legal/financial troubles and partner infighting, Hicks retired from the company and the ownership group eventually left the partnership with Corinthians. There was no new stadium. On February 1, 2007, it was made known through the English press that he was involved in a consortium with one-time friend and Montreal Canadiens owner George N. Gillett Jr. to purchase English Premier League club Liverpool F.C. ; this takeover proposal
11978-419: Was issued by his father Edward III on 20 July 1376. At the end of the 12th century, Birkenhead Priory stood on the west bank of the Mersey at a headland of birch trees, from which the town derives its name. The ruined priory is Merseyside's oldest surviving building and its Benedictine monks provided the first official Mersey ferry service around 1330, having been granted a passage to Liverpool by
12091-448: Was maintained on the peninsula, at Bidston , between 1845 and 2002. The major urban centres of the Wirral are to its east: these include Birkenhead and Wallasey . To the west and south, the Wirral is more rural. Two-thirds of the population of the Wirral live on one third of the land in Birkenhead and Wallasey, according to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Other towns to the south and west of this area are usually considered part of
12204-403: Was making money – not in owning what is for me the greatest football club in the world, investing in it properly and taking good care of it. Good riddance." After selling the club, Hicks admitted that his relationship with the fans had been strained: "Something went wrong with my ability to communicate with the fans. I am saddened by it." In the two years before Hicks and Gillett took control of
12317-462: Was not a gradual progression of development, and downstream anchorages such as that at Hoyle Lake (which replaced Meols) were in occasional use from medieval times, depending on the weather and state of the tide. The main port facilities were at Neston and Parkgate. At the same time, larger ships and economic growth in Lancashire stimulated the growth of Liverpool . The first wet dock in Britain
12430-400: Was opened in Liverpool in 1715, and the town's population grew from some 6,000 to 80,000 during the 18th century. The need to develop and protect the port led to a chain of lighthouses being built along the north Wirral coast. The commercial expansion of Liverpool, and the increase in stage coach traffic from Chester, also spurred the growth of ferries across the River Mersey . By the end of
12543-488: Was released virally via YouTube . Produced and directed by Mike Jefferies , it featured celebrity fans of the club giving their reasons why they wanted to see a change of ownership. The Independent newspaper praised the video, saying, "True to the city's capacity to create something out of adversity, a wonderfully inventive viral film, Dear Mr Hicks, has been published online to make it clear where he ought to go. The fans' view can be summarised thus: away, and soon." It
12656-401: Was subsequently designated the controlling owner of the club by a unanimous vote of the 30 owners of Major League Baseball on May 12, 2011. In 1999, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst entered into a partnership with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube and Sport Club Corinthians Paulista , two popular Brazilian football clubs. Club directors and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst assured the fans that a new stadium
12769-415: Was £150 million (sometimes cited as $ 150 million). The Sunday Mirror calculated that the net spend probably did not exceed £25.1 million and has accused Hicks of "creative accountancy", stating "what is irrefutable is that Hicks has exaggerated the net spend by probably close to six fold". During Hicks and Gillett's period of ownership, the club struggled to meet the interest payments on
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