Blast from the past – Hughie Gallagher.

This series will take a look back at some of the original Newcastle United legends. With all the doom and gloom around our current crop of so called management and players, it seems a look back at some our old guard is in order. A little reminder of what makes this club a great one. A club with a tradition of having sublime players amongst its ranks. A club that has tasted success on multiple occasions and is engrained in English football’s history as one of the Giants. Maybe a little reminder of our proud history and past heroes will spur our current club representatives to have a little pride in the shirt and even try to emulate these Newcastle United legends. Maybe it will help convince Ashley to invest in some genuine talent for a change – and build a team round that talent instead of flogging it off. Or maybe the club will continue to be run like some cheap tat shop used as a giant mannequin to showcase Ashley’s personal business interests instead…
Hughie Gallagher was born in February 1903 in Belshill, Scotland. To give a little perspective to how much the world has changed since then, On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk with their first powered aircraft. The Wright brothers had invented the first successful airplane.
Hughie would play locally for Tannockside Athletic and Hattonrigg Thistle before signing his first professional contract with Queen of the South in 1920, the same year traffic lights, plasters and the washing machine were introduced to the world. He married the same year and had 2 children. The following year he joined Airdrieonians, scoring 91 goals in 111 games over a 4-year period and securing the Scottish Cup. By now he had split from his wife in the first of many personal problems in his life.
In March 1924 Hughie represented Scotland for the first time. He scored 5 goals in his first 4 games including twice in a 2-0 victory over England in front of 92,000 fans at Hampden Park. Imagine the atmosphere back then… Hughie’s form was so prolific that Newcastle United broke their transfer record when they shelled out £6,500 to land him in 1925 – the same year the humble television came alive. Gallagher would spend 5 years with the Toon and he was a screaming success.
In his first season Hughie netted 23 times in only 19 appearances, including 2 on his debut against Everton. He was made Captain the following season, scoring 36 times in 38 games helping Newcastle United to secure the First Division Title for the last time to date in 1926-1927. He would go on to score an impressive 74 goals in 103 appearances throughout the following 3 seasons. To date, no Toon striker has managed to match Hughie’s potency in front of goal when you compare his strike rate to his number of appearances – 82%. Total Toon stats: 174 games, 143 goals.
He continued to do well for his Country, securing a hat-trick against Northern Ireland in 1926 and being part of the team that thrashed England 5-1 in 1928. That Scotland team would forever be known as the ‘Wembley Wizards’ as a result of that game. You can see some of the footage here The link in the 1st Comment. As if that was not enough, Hughie would score all 4 goals the following season in a 4-2 win over Northern Ireland. He’d only represent Scotland 20 times, but he scored 23 goals and only lost one game.
Hughie is described as being two footed with a powerful and accurate shot. At only 5’5’’ tall, he was surprisingly good in the air and he was a grafter – getting stuck in for the cause. Despite his talent, he was also a hot head. He would fall victim to the referee’s wrath on a regular basis and got himself a 2-month ban whilst in Toon colours, something the Newcastle hierarchy and new coach Andy Cunningham were not impressed about. What had he done? Pushed the referee Mr. Fogg into the team bath of course! He was a heavy drinker off the pitch and got involved with a local Inn keeper’s daughter. This resulted in Court action against Hughie, who had assaulted the young lady’s brother who was not happy with a still married Hughie besmirching his little sister’s honour. Hughie would right this wrong, by divorcing the mother of his 2 children and wedding the young lady. Unfortunately, his divorce cost him in the region of £4,000 (over £200 grand in today’s money during a time that footballers earnt less than the equivalent of £25,000-a-year). He was in financial ruin.
By now penicillin and liquid rocket fuel had been invented. In 1930 Hughie was sold to Chelsea for a record £10,000. A £3,500 profit for the club. Mike Ashley would be proud. Toon fans were gutted to lose Hughie and set a crowd record of 68,386 when he returned to St.James’ Park with the Blues later that year. 20,000 fans had to make do with being locked out of the stadium.
Hughie still liked the drink and was actually accused of being Drunk & Disorderly whilst on the pitch. He claimed he had used whiskey as a mouth wash! He failed to land any silverware with Chelsea, but still managed a tidy return of 81 goals in 144 games for the club, was their top scorer for 3 years and saved them from relegation in 1933 – the year the electron microscope was invented. Gallagher was moved on to Derby County after this. At the time of the move, Hughie was in financial dire-straits and part of his move to Derby included the Rams clearing his debts. He found the back of the net 38 times in 51 appearances. He was now on the decline and turned out for clubs such as Notts County, Grimsby Town and Gateshead.
Hughie finished up his career just prior to World War 2 with 624 senior appearances, netting 463 times. His life would end in tragedy in 1957. He had thrown an ashtray at his misbehaving 14-year-old son Matthew and clipped him with it, drawing blood. He was in drink at the time and in the throes of depression. His wife had died in 1950 and Hughie had never gotten over it. Gallagher’s eldest son Hughie junior had just returned from a tour with the RAF and was not impressed with what his Dad had done. He took Matthew to a friend's house and turned his Dad away the following day, telling him he never wanted to see him again. That was the last time the two Hughie’s ever saw each other and Hughie junior has regretted it ever since, insisting his Dad had never raised a hand against any of his kids on any other occasion.The day before he was due to appear at Court he threw himself in front of the York to Edinburgh train, losing his head in the process. At his inquest a letter of apology penned by Gallagher was read out. Part of that letter read: ‘I’ll never forgive myself for having struck Matthew, even if I live to be a hundred.’
Hughie is a true Newcastle United Icon. A record purchase, highest return in goals to games and the man that began the Cult status of the famed number 9 shirt. In the 1926-1927 season Hughie sealed no less than 5 hat-tricks in that famous black and white #9 shirt and his 36 league goals that year is a record that still stands today. Hughie is considered as one of the first true football celebrities. He liked the social scene, was popular with fans and was up-to-date in the fashion stakes. He’d walk around Tyneside dressed like a gangster in a broad-brimmed hat, double breasted suits and spats. On top of that, he had bag loads of skill and knew how to put a shift in. A true legend of the game.
Written by Shamrock. Content from various open sources.