Jackie Milburn

Lore & Background

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. 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, after a 4–0 defeat to eventual winners Charlton Athletic in the 1947 FA Cup semi-final on 29 March 1947, Wayman was transferred later that year. Manager George Martin then 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. 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, brought him national recognition and afforded him iconic status on Tyneside. 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, though according to Tom Finney, this stemmed from an "innate inferiority complex". By the time Milburn left Newcastle in 1957, he had become the highest goalscorer in Newcastle United's history. He remained so until he was surpassed by Alan Shearer in February 2006. Milburn remains Newcastle's second highest goalscorer, having scored 200 competitive goals. 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. 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. 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. A statue of Milburn, costing £35,000 and paid for by donations received from Newcastle United supporters

In Their Own Story

The November fog had rolled off the Tyne and settled over St James' Park like a grey blanket, thick enough to swallow the floodlights whole. In the tunnel, the smell of liniment and wet wool hung heavy. Milburn sat on the bench, lacing his boots with the methodical calm of a man who had done this a hundred times and would do it a hundred more. Around him, the chatter of the dressing room was a low roar—Finney humming to himself, Swift cracking his knuckles, the clatter of studs on concrete.

He stepped out onto the pitch and the fog parted just enough to reveal the first thirty yards of grass, glistening and dark. The away end was a wall of noise, a low, sustained moan that seemed to come from the earth itself. He could feel the cold seep through his socks, the wet grass already seeping into his boots. He jogged to his position on the left, eyes scanning the channel, already calculating the run the winger would make.

The ball came out from the goalkeeper. Milburn met it, turned, and began the long, endless run back and down the line that would define the next ninety minutes. The fog swallowed the stands. The fog swallowed the crowd. All that was left was the grass, the ball, and the relentless, aching rhythm of his legs carrying him forward, forward, forward.

Reader's Guide

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 intentions were the best in the world...but that thrashing laid the foundations for an inferiority complex I've fought all my life to overcome". When he was twelve, Milburn moved to Hirst East Senior Boys School and was selected to play right-wing for the school football team. His father promised to award him a penny for every goal he scored. He duly earned two pence for scoring twice on his debut in a 6–4 win against Linton School. He was selected for East Northumberland Schools, and he scored in a 3–2 semi-final defeat by Lancashire at Maine Road. Milburn left school at fourteen and, telling his father that he was too claustrophobic to follow him into coal-mining, he found employment stacking shelves and filling sugar bags on eight-shillings a week, after an abortive spell as a pantry boy in London. In 1939, he attempted to join the Royal Navy but was rejected for being an inch too short. Milbu

Did You Know?

• Milburn scored six second-half goals in his second trial match for Newcastle United in 1943.
• He scored the fastest ever Wembley FA Cup Final goal in 1955 (45 seconds), a record that stood until 1997.
• Milburn was Newcastle United's all-time top scorer until Alan Shearer surpassed him in February 2006.
• He was known as 'Wor Jackie' in North East England, a Geordie term meaning 'Our Jackie'.
• Milburn died of lung cancer on 9 October 1988, aged 64.