Football career Hughie Gallacher

1 football career

1.1 life
1.2 queen of south
1.3 airdrieonians
1.4 newcastle united
1.5 chelsea
1.6 later career

football career
early life

gallacher born in bellshill, north lanarkshire in 1903. started biffing twopenny ball walk. gallacher began long friendship alex james when @ bellshill academy. had been down hattonrig pit @ age of 15, working 10-hour shifts. aged 16 left lanarkshire junior league side tannochside athletic join hattonrigg thistle. fate played part in next move football ladder. spectator attended watch bellshill athletic play st mirren juniors. bellshill man short , gallacher asked play. after hitting side s goal in 1–1 draw asked join club.

he barely 17 when met , married annie mcilvaney, girl worked @ pit worked miner. had 2 children hughie, died before first birthday , catherine. divorced in acrimonious circumstances.

queen of south

in december 1920, gallacher picked scottish junior side play against ireland @ shawfield. gallacher hit scotland equaliser fine header 2 minutes remaining in 1–1 draw. among @ game james jolly, secretary of dumfries club queen of south. jolly approached gallacher after game , offered him trial @ queens, prospect of £30 signing-on fee , £5 per week plus expenses should in trial. @ time queens in second season after formation , cup games aside played local fixtures. professional football professional football , enough gallacher.

at queens gallacher s name on team sheet replaced ian dickson on way aston villa. 2 of 4 players play in queens first 3 seasons before moving on successful careers in england s top division. others dave halliday , willie ferguson.

rejecting opportunity of international trial game @ methil, gallacher made queen of south debut aged 17 against st cuthbert wanderers on 29 january 1921. gallacher scored 4 goals in 7–0 victory. herald , courier wrote after game, gallacher pick of front line. young player knows required of him in centre. gathers ball perfection , possesses first time shot of deadly nature. 4 goals taken , not fault did not have more . contract waiting gallacher after game.

gallacher s next game senior debut, scottish cup second round tie against nithsdale wanderers. queens lost 3–1. in 5–2 victory on dumbarton, herald , courier gushed of gallacher, first kick until last, showed exceptional dash , had unusual record of scoring 5 goals. continuously source of great danger , showed no mercy rocket shooting .

while enjoying holiday in dumfries, gallacher took ill double pneumonia. doctors believed never play football again, week later said recovering well. while in dumfries infirmary approached directors of airdrieonians had noted performance in recent challenge game. @ time if player not playing league football @ time free sign whoever offered contract. airdrie offered gallacher contract , gallacher signed without second thought. in 9 games gallacher hit 19 goals game against hawick on 13 april 1921 being last. gallacher returned palmerston many times play in , referee charity matches. gallacher among jubilant crowd watched queens win in 1929–30 season ending 2–1 charity cup final win against mid-annandale.

in week prior queen of south appearing in 2008 scottish cup final club office took phone call gallacher s son phoned wish queens best , said father had spoken fondly of time @ queen of south.

airdrieonians

he moved north lanarkshire transfer airdrieonians. on 19 september 1921 gallacher made senior scottish league debut in 2–0 defeat raith rovers. gallacher selected first team 15 times season , hit 7 goals. helped airdrie reserves second xi cup. following season gallacher became first team main stay club finished second. next season airdrie finished second again gallacher hitting 5 in 6–1 win on clyde briefly had airdrie top of league. silverware arrived when airdrie beat hibs 2–0 in scottish cup final, club s first senior trophy.

on 1 march 1924 in 2–0 victory against northern ireland gallacher awarded first international cap.

in 1924–25 airdrie had third straight second place league finish. gallacher credited 35 goals. in november 1925 gallacher hit 5 in scottish league 7–3 victory on irish league. 2 weeks later gallacher double followed in 2–0 win against english league.

he 5 ft 5 ins tall , on receiving end of rough treatment. however, because tended seek own retribution, in trouble authorities. there speculation number of english clubs out sign him. airdrie fans incensed , threatened burn wooden stand down if sold. last game club came on 5 december 1925 in 2–1 defeat morton. in 129 games airdrie gallacher hit 100 goals.

newcastle united

newcastle united s desperation new centre-forward meant willing pay £6,500 capture him. gallacher signed on 8 december 1925.

at newcastle united gallacher made immediate impact, scoring 2 goals on debut 4 days after signing in 3–3 home draw against everton (dixie dean hit everton hat trick) , scoring 15 goals in first 9 games. ended season 23 league goals in 19 games, ending club s top scorer despite signing halfway through season.

from first match played in england marked man, hacked , elbowed , gouged defenders acting on instructions stop him scoring @ costs. 1 teammate described how gallacher sit in dressing room, pieces of flesh hanging legs , socks , boots soaked in blood.

the following season, 1926–27, 23-year-old gallacher given captaincy, , powerful leadership qualities took newcastle league championship first time since 1909, although criticism of of less talented players in team did not go unnoticed. sunderland still in contention until beaten 1–0 @ st james’ park on 19 march before record crowd of 67,211. goalscorer gallacher, still rated today newcastle s finest ever player. scored 36 league goals in 38 appearances, still highest number of league goals in 1 season newcastle player

in 1927–28 season scored 21 league goals in 32 appearances. in 1928–29 season scored 24 league goals in 33 appearances. in 1929–30 season scored 29 league goals in 38 appearances.

within few months of coming newcastle met , fell in love hannah anderson, 17-year-old daughter of landlord of 1 of favourite pubs. caused gossip in town, , threatened several times relatives. hannah girl gallacher, although wasn t until 1934, when able divorce, able marry her. become core of gallacher s life, , had 3 sons together.

whilst @ newcastle united, scored 143 league , cup goals in 174 appearances. strike rate of on 82% prolific in newcastle fc history.

a chant reportedly once sung @ st james park in relation hughie went follows;

ye ken hughie gallacher wee scots lad,
the best centre forward newcastle ever had,
if doesn t score goal wu ll put him on dole,
and wu ll send him scotland came from.

chelsea

gallacher joined david calderhead s chelsea part of £25,000 spending spree saw club sign fellow scottish forwards alex jackson , alec cheyne; such popularity @ newcastle, when chelsea visited st james park, home of newcastle united, season attendance record 68,386 several thousand more locked out. gallacher scored 81 goals in 144 games , chelsea s top scorer in each of 4 seasons in west london. team clicked, such in 6–2 win on manchester united , 5–0 win on sunderland trophies remained elusive.

the fa cup closest club came silverware. in 1932, team secured impressive wins on liverpool , sheffield wednesday, , drawn against newcastle united in semi-finals. tommy lang inspired newcastle 2–0 lead, before gallacher pulled 1 chelsea. blues laid siege united goal in second half, unable make breakthrough , geordies went on lift trophy.

gallacher s time there marred suspensions indiscipline – including two-month ban swearing @ referee – , off-pitch controversies. in 1934 ended in bankruptcy court due prolonged , acrimonious divorce. in november 1934 sold derby county £2,750.

later career

gallacher transferred derby county in 1934 £2,750. taken under wing of fellow scotsmen dally duncan , old newcastle united friend, jimmy boyd, , said have been gold during baseball ground days. 38 goals in 51 league games helped derby finish second in league sunderland in 1935–36, finish club have surpassed twice (both times in 1970s under influence of brian clough , dave mackay). gallacher hit 40 goals in 55 games derby.

later in 1941, when club investigated f.a. on suspected financial irregularities, 1 of accusations being manager george jobey had paid gallacher illegal signing on fees. player refused admit it, jobey, manager of rams since 1925, received stunning ten-year suspension part in scandal.

the following season, moved notts county £2,000. impressive 32 goals in 45 games helped county second-place finish in england s third division.

in january 1938 moved grimsby town £1,000, hitting 3 goals in 12 games.

later in 1938, gateshead, modest team languishing in bottom division, paid £500 him. s grand on tyneside, said emotional gallacher, when climbed off train. heart has been here ever since left united 8 years ago. intend spend rest of life adopted folk in gateshead.

crowds @ gateshead ground soared 20,000 week. hit 18 league goals club before retiring football outbreak of world war ii.