Newcastle United : 1898-1918

The Encylopedia of British Football

Newcastle United was formed in 1892 after the merger of two local clubs, Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End. The following season Newcastle was elected to the Second Division of the Football League. The team performed extremely well and finished in fourth place with only seven defeats in 28 league games.

Newcastle East End team in 1890.

In 1895 Newcastle appointed Frank Watt as club secretary. He immediately went to Scotland and began recruiting high-quality players. His first two signings were Andy Aitkin and Willie Wardrope.

John Peddie signed for Newcastle United in 1897. In his first full season he was top scorer with 16 league goals and helped the club win promotion to the First Division. Peddie was also top scorer in 1898-99 (18), 1899-1900 (15) and 1900-01 (16). However, as Paul Joannou points out in his book, The Black 'n' White Alphabet: "Peddie... was often in trouble with the club's hierarchy for a number of misdemeanours; refusing to play, being absent from training and ultimately being suspended sine-die in 1900 (later lifted)."

Over a four year period he scored 73 goals in 125 matches. However, a local newspaper report pointed out that the fans had mixed views on his abilities: "Peddie is the most highly praised and roundly abused man on the club's books. A player of moods... his nonchalant ways and easy going methods are less inspiring than his shooting."

Bill McCracken (Ireland), Colin Veitch (England) and Jimmy Howie (Scotland)

Newcastle United won the Football League championship in the 1904-05 season. The club also reached the FA Cup Final that year but was beaten by Aston Villa 2-0. The attendance of 101,117 remains the largest crowd to watch Newcastle play. Newcastle also got to the 1906 FA Cup Final. However, this time they were beaten by Everton 1-0.

Newcastle United also won the First Division championships in the 1906-07 and 1908-09 seasons. They also won the FA Cup Final against Barnsley in 1910.