Joe_Harvey

Joe Harvey

Joe Harvey (November 6, 1918 - February 1989) was an English football player and later manager. He spent much of his career at Newcastle United; he was the club's longest serving captain, manager and as of 2008 the last to win a major trophy.

Playing career

Harvey was born in Edlington, Doncaster and it was in his home town where he began his playing career playing part-time with Edlington Rangers. He was signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1936 but struggled to make an impression on the first team. He was sold to Bournemouth six months later. He remained at Bournemouth for a while but was released by the club at the end of 1938 and found himself without a club. He was soon signed up by Bradford City. However World War II was declared almost immediately after Harvey signed for Bradford, leaving him no time to settle.

He joined the Royal Artillery and was appointed sergeant in the Army Physical Training Corps. Despite this he still managed to find time to play football at weekends. During the war, like many players, he 'guested' for a number of clubs such as Hartlepool United, Aberdeen and Dundee United. It was during the 1943-44 season when Harvey began to show his talent for Bradford. A number of clubs began to show an interest in signing him including Middlesbrough and Blackburn. On October 20, 1945, Newcastle United signed him for £4,500, despite Bradford insisting on £10,000 months before.

Newcastle United

He quickly established himself in Newcastle's young side and after an impressive debut against Barnsley was made captain of the side. Before playing for Newcastle Harvey was an established inside forward, at Newcastle he began to settle in the half-back position. At the end of his first season with the club he was demobbed. Partly thanks to his time as a sergeant, he was an authoritative figure amongst the Newcastle players who had the utmost respect for him. However, his time at the club was not without controversy. In the 1946-47 he was memorably suspended by the club's directors, along with team mate Len Shackleton, after going on strike against the quality of accommodation the club had provided the team. Both players were forced to make a public apology for their actions. Harvey was also believed to have been involved in the illegal selling of tickets for the 1952 FA Cup Final, although he was never charged for this.

Despite the controversy he was still a popular player amongst the supporters because of his attitude and displays on the pitch. In the 1947-48 he was a big part of the team that gained promotion to the First Division, only missing five games throughout the whole campaign. He captained the team to two successive FA Cup victories in 1951 and 1952. He retired from playing on May 1, 1953 at the age of 34, despite still being a first-team regular. His final game was a 1-0 win over Aston Villa. However his involvement in football and Newcastle was far from over as he worked towards becoming a coach. He began attending coaching sessions set up by Walter Winterbottom soon after retiring from playing. These sessions helped him to continue working at Newcastle as a trainer for two years. During this time he watched from the sidelines as the club won the FA Cup for the third time in a five year period.

Management career

Wanting to find his way into top-level management, Harvey took control of struggling Barrow. Keeping the club in the league proved near impossible; the squad consisted of just five players upon his appointment. Consequently Harvey had to apply for re-election by goal average only in 1955-56. He soon left Barrow and was appointed manager of Workington in 1956, where he initially struggled too, but Harvey's influence gradually saw the Workington nearing promotion. He applied for the vacant manager's job at his beloved Newcastle United in 1958, but lost out to Charlie Mitten. The position became available again in 1962 and this time Harvey was successful in his application.

Harvey re-joined the club after they had suffered relegation from the First Division, (now known as the Premier League) in 1961. He led the club back to the top flight winning the Second Division in 1965. With players such as Wyn Davies, Bobby Moncur and Terry Hibbitt, Newcastle once again became a major force in English football. After qualifying for European competition - the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Harvey led the side to success in the competition in 1969. This was, to this day, the last major trophy the club has won. Harvey also brought one of the clubs greatest ever players to Tyneside when he signed Malcolm Macdonald in 1971. With 'Super Mac' at the club Harvey led the side to the 1974 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, but was unable to win the domestic trophy he desperately wanted - losing the match 3-0. At the end of the 1974-75 season Harvey was forced to resign after mounting pressure from supporters, frustrated that the side had failed to reach the very top. Those same supporters were ironically calling for his return years later as result got worse. Despite his harsh treatment towards the end, Harvey took an active interest in the club to his last day.

Harvey died suddenly of a heart attack in February, 1989. He was 70 years old with much of those years being devoted to football.