Jackie Milburn

Newcastle United

Trial and signing

Milburn and his Northumberland ATC teammates were invited to St James' Park by Newcastle United director Wilf Taylor, after a match against Yorkshire ATC in 1943. Milburn, along with his friend and teammate Raymond Poxton, attended United's final home game of the season. Milburn was distinctly unimpressed with what he saw, turning to his friend and saying "Raymond, we could play better than this, surely?" Soon after, he responded to an advertisement for trialists published in the North Mail Newspaper by Newcastle United prior to the 1943–44 season. The first trial was held in midweek and Milburn scored two goals in one half, earning an invitation to return on Saturday for a public trial at St James' and an 'amateur contract'. He arrived long before the 2pm kick-off with a pair of borrowed football boots wrapped in brown paper, and his lunch – two pies and a bottle of pop. Milburn's team of fellow trialists ('The Stripes') played against a Newcastle United First XI featuring Albert Stubbins and Jimmy Gordon ('The Blues'). The Stripes trailed 3–0 at half time and Joe Richardson told Milburn: "you'd better buck your ideas up son, if you want to come here". Switched to centre forward in the second half, Milburn scored six times as his side won 9–3. The Sunday Sun reported that "United's second trial proved a triumph for Milburn, the Ashington inside-left, who was signed as an amateur earlier in the week. Milburn, a tall…

Milburn was born on 11 May 1924 in the upstairs flat of his grandparents' house at 14 Sixth Row in Ashington to Annie ("Nance") Thompson and Alexander ("Alec") Milburn. Alexander Milburn was the uncle of four professional footballing brothers - Jack Milburn (born 1908; played for Leeds United and Bradford City), George Milburn (born 1910; played for Leeds United and Chesterfield), Jimmy Milburn (born 1919; played for Leeds United and Bradford City), and Stan Milburn (born 1926; played for Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale), who were brothers of Jack and Bobby Charlton's mother Elizabeth "Cissie" Milburn (born 1912). Alexander Milburn worked as a coal cutter at the nearby colliery. Jackie Milburn later told his son, Jack Jr., that "I used to shiver as he disappeared into that deep shaft leading to the coalface". When he was eight years old, Milburn was given his first pair of football boots as a Christmas present from his parents and from that point "football dominated his life". The young Milburn idolised Joe Hulme, and hoped to emulate him. Although an initially confident boy, Milburn recalled an incident where, having already won the sprint, sprint relay, long jump and high jump at his school sports day, his father arrived just in time to see him win the 440 yard race. Exhausted, he collapsed to the floor – a gesture his father mistook for showboating and resulted in him receiving "a real hiding". Reflecting later, Milburn contended that "maybe my father's…

In 1947, Milburn was staying at a Letchworth hotel with his Newcastle teammates, when he met Laura Blackwood – a silver-service waitress working at the hotel. According to Blackwood, she was serving him breakfast when he 'asked her out' and they went to the cinema. Three months later, she travelled to the family home in Ashington and Milburn proposed. They married on 16 February 1948 at Willesden Register Office in North London. They had three children – Linda, Betty and Jackie Jr – and six grandchildren.

In 1987, Newcastle United opened their new West Stand at St James' Park. This was named the Milburn Stand, in honour of Jackie.This remains the only stand named after a player at St James' Park. Three statues of Milburn were commissioned. One was placed in Station Road in his birthplace Ashington. The funds were raised by the Civic Head, Cllr. Michael George Ferrigon during his term of Office. It now stands at Ashington Leisure Centre in Lintonville Terrace. A second statue of Milburn was unveiled by Laura Milburn on Newcastle's Northumberland Street in 1991. It was designed by sculptor Susanna Robinson and cost £35,000. The fee was raised after an appeal by the local newspaper attracted donations from local businesses and Newcastle United supporters. The statue stands 12 feet (3.7 m) high and the inscription reads: John Edward Thompson Milburn, footballer and gentleman. 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. The whereabouts of the third statue had caused some local consternation in 2011, when the local newspaper recounted a fibreglass statue of Milburn located outside St James' Park between 1996 and 1998, but which had since vanished. The statue was 'found' in the garden of the sculptor who had created it, Tom Maley, who had held it after it was returned to him by Newcastle United to cast in bronze – an arrangement which was cancelled when the club was sold to Mike…