Jackie Milburn

For other people named Jack and Jackie Milburn, see Jackie Milburn (disambiguation).

Jackie Milburn
Milburn as Linfield player-manager, 1957
Personal information
Full name John Edward Thompson Milburn
Date of birth (1924-05-11)11 May 1924
Place of birth Ashington, Northumberland, England
Date of death 9 October 1988(1988-10-09) (aged 64)
Place of death Ashington, Northumberland, England
Position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1943–1957 Newcastle United 353 (177)
1957–1960 Linfield 54 (68)
1960–1962 Yiewsley
Total 407 (245)
International career
1948–1955 England 13 (10)
Managerial career
1957–1960 Linfield
1960–1962 Yiewsley
1963–1964 Ipswich Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Edward Thompson "Jackie" Milburn (11 May 1924 – 9 October 1988) was an English football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield.[1][2] He was also known as Wor Jackie (particularly in North East England, a Geordie dialectal).

Cousin to the mother of Jack and Bobby Charlton, Milburn played two trial matches at St James' Park as a 19-year-old in 1943. In the second of these, he scored six second half goals.[3] Milburn made his competitive debut in the FA Cup in the 1945–46 season and was initially deployed on the left wing as a supplier to Charlie Wayman. However, Wayman was dropped before a 4–0 defeat to eventual winners Charlton Athletic in a 1947 FA Cup semi-final and when he afterwards vowed not to play for United again, manager George Martin made the decision to switch Milburn to centre forward. In his next match, on 18 October 1947, Milburn wore the number nine shirt for the first time and scored a hat-trick.[4]

Milburn's subsequent achievements, particularly his two goals which won the 1951 FA Cup Final and his 45-second opener in the 1955 FA Cup Final which was the fastest ever Wembley FA Cup Final goal until it was beaten by Roberto Di Matteo in 1997,[5] brought him national recognition[6] and afforded him iconic status on Tyneside.[7][8][9][10] In total, Milburn played in three FA Cup winning finals for United; 1951, 1952 and 1955. Despite his achievements, Milburn was reportedly a very shy and self-deprecating individual, whose modesty further endeared him to Newcastle United supporters,[6][11][12] though according to Tom Finney, this stemmed from an "innate inferiority complex".[13]

By the time Milburn left Newcastle in 1957, he had become the highest goalscorer in Newcastle United's history.[14] He remained so until he was surpassed by Alan Shearer in February 2006.[15] Milburn remains Newcastle's second highest goalscorer, having scored 200 competitive goals.[16][17] Milburn's transfer to Linfield in 1957 was almost jeopardised when the Newcastle board demanded a substantial signing fee, and much to the anger of fans, Milburn was not immediately granted a testimonial.[18] His signing for Linfield "added thousands to the gate" and he made 54 appearances, scoring 68 goals in four seasons in all competitions for the club.[2] He was finally granted a testimonial ten years later, in 1967.

Milburn died of lung cancer on 9 October 1988, aged 64. His funeral took place on 13 October, and was attended by over 1,000 mourners at St Nicholas's Cathedral in Newcastle. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to watch the cortège pass.[7] A statue of Milburn, costing £35,000 and paid for by donations received from Newcastle United supporters was erected on Newcastle's Northumberland Street before it was relocated in 1999 to St James' Boulevard and then moved again to its present position on Strawberry Place, just outside St James' Park.

Milburn was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in October 2006.[19] In 2009, Goal.com listed Milburn as 43rd in their list of the top English players of all time.[20]

  1. ^ Milburn, Jack (2003). Jackie Milburn A Man of Two Halves. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1840188049.
  2. ^ a b Beacom, Steven (23 April 2011). "25 Greatest Linfield players of all time". Belfast Telegraph.
  3. ^ Bolam, Mike (2008). The Newcastle Miscellany. Vision Sports Publishing. p. 5. ISBN 9781905326495.
  4. ^ "The joy of six: positional switches". The Guardian. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  5. ^ Younger, Dylan (2006). Newcastle's Cult heroes. Know the Score Books Ltd. p. 77. ISBN 9781905449033.
  6. ^ a b Miller, David (2 April 2005). "Milburn still out on his own". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  7. ^ a b Hutchinson, Lisa (9 October 2013). "Wor Jackie remembered – Funeral of legend Jackie Milburn". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  8. ^ Hutchinson, Lisa (8 October 2013). "Wor Jackie remembered: Laura Milburn tells of life with Jackie". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  9. ^ Younger, Dylan (2006). Newcastle's Cult heroes. Know the Score Books Ltd. p. 66. ISBN 9781905449033.
  10. ^ "Statute of Newcastle United Legend Jackie Milburn relocated". BBC News. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  11. ^ Younger, Dylan (2006). Newcastle's Cult heroes. Know the Score Books Ltd. p. 68. ISBN 9781905449033.
  12. ^ Pearson, Harry (March 2013). "The footballer who could fly". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  13. ^ Younger, Dylan (2006). Newcastle's Cult heroes. Know the Score Books Ltd. p. 69. ISBN 9781905449033.
  14. ^ Hutchinson, Roger (1997). The Toon A Complete History of Newcastle United Football Club. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1851589562.
  15. ^ Wardle, John (5 February 2006). "Shearer eclipses Milburn at last". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Jackie Milburn National Football Museum Hall Of Fame profile". www.nationalfootballmuseum.com. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Jackie Milburn". Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  18. ^ Galvin, Robert (2005). The Football Hall of Fame. Robson Books. p. 253.
  19. ^ Gibson, John (9 September 2006). Wor Jackie joins Hall of Fame. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  20. ^ Dawson, Alan (4 May 2009). "Goal.com's Top 50 English Players – Jackie Milburn". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.