Jackie Milburn

Lore & Background

Milburn was cousin to the mother of Jack and Bobby Charlton. He played two trial matches at St James' Park as a 19-year-old in 1943; in the second, he scored six second half goals. He 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. 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. 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. In total, Milburn played in three FA Cup winning finals for United: 1951, 1952 and 1955. By the time he 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 on 4 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. He made 54 appearances, scoring 68 goals in four seasons in all competitions for Linfield. 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, 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.

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. When he was eight, Milburn was given his first pair of football boots as a Christmas present. He left school at fourteen and, after an abortive spell as a pantry boy in London, found employment stacking shelves and filling sugar bags on eight shillings a week. In 1939, he attempted to join the Royal Navy but was rejected for being an inch too short. He joined the Ashington Air Training Corps instead. At sixteen, he accepted an apprenticeship as a fitter at a local colliery, which meant he was not conscripted during the war. Milburn began entering local sprint races, clocking a 9.7 second personal best for the 100 yard dash. In 1940, he entered the Powderhall Sprint and won his first race. He continued to play football for the Air Training Corps and, told one afternoon that a scout from Newcastle United was in attendance, he scored five in an 8–3 win, but the scout failed to arrive. 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. He responded to an advertisement for trialists in the North Mail Newspaper prior to the 1943–44 season. In his first trial he scored two goals in one half, earning an invitation to return on Saturday for a public trial. He arrived with a pair of borrowed football boots wrapped in brown paper, and his lunch – two pies and a bottle of pop. His team of trialists ('The Stripes') played against a Newcastle United First XI ('The Blues'). The Stripes trailed 3–0 at half time; switched to centre forward in the second half, Milburn scored six times as his side won 9–3.

Did You Know?

• He once ran the 100-yard dash in 9.7 seconds.
• Milburn's father gave him a hiding after he collapsed from exhaustion after winning a race at school, which Milburn said laid the foundation for his inferiority complex.