A Countdown Through Time: 1920s

We’re not even a month removed from the last Newcastle United match and I just can’t take it anymore! I need my Magpie fix and with takeover news slowing to a crawl, I want to do something a little different. With nine weeks until the start of the next season, I want to cover a different decade of Newcastle United history every week, counting down until the start of the season.

Let’s go back to just after the turn of the century. World War I ended just two years ago and Newcastle United is readying itself to make an impact of the First Division.

In 1924, Newcastle United returned to the FA Cup final, being played in the then brand new Wembley Stadium, and faced off against Aston Villa. The game, now commonly known as the “Rainy Day” final due to the weather during the match, would see Neil Harris and Stan Seymour both score in a 2-0 win to secure Newcastle’s second FA Cup.

Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

The following year in December, Newcastle United signed Scottish Center Forward Hughie Gallacher for a then club record setting £6.5k. Gallacher’s impact was immediate and unquestionable, scoring two goals in his debut, just four days after signing, in a 3-3 draw to Everton. Over the course of nine games, Gallacher scored 15 goals. He would end the season with 23 league goals in only 19 games, making him the club’s leading scorer despite only playing for half the season.

Photo by Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

The 1926/27 season saw the 23 year old Gallacher earn the captaincy and lead Newcastle to League Championship, the first since the 1908 season. This would also be the season that Newcastle United would beat Sunderland 1-0 in front of a then record breaking crowd of 67,211 fans on their way to a 4th First Division Championship.

After that, Newcastle never quite maintained its form, falling to 9th place in the 1927/28 season, with the only notable achievement of being tied with Huddersfield for largest away victory of the season with a 7-1 win over Manchester United (Huddersfield beat Sheffield United 7-1 on the road).

The 1928/29 season saw pretty much the same result, Newcastle finished 10th, only this time, Newcastle was on the receiving end of the largest road win, losing 2-7 to Burnley.

1929/30 was rough, seeing Newcastle United barely remain in the First division and the selling of Newcastle legend Hughie Gallacher to Chelsea for £10k.

All in all, Newcastle United had a fairly successful decade in the 1920s: an FA Cup and a league championship, legendary players like Hughie Gallacher, Stan Seymour, Neil Harris and more. I hope you enjoyed going back in time with me. There’s going to be a Countdown Through Time coming out every week, covering a different decade of NUFC history. What decade are you most looking forward to? What decade would you consider to be the best in Newcastle’s history? Let me know what you think in the comments.