Time and again it’s said that the word ‘legend’ is overused these days. And it’s right. That bloke down the pub that can stick 6 pickled eggs in his gob at once is not a legend. Reality TV stars are not legends. Put simply, legends are made of sterner stuff and capable of remarkable feats.
In terms of the history of Newcastle United, Joe Harvey is a legend, of that there can be no doubt. Serving the club as both a successful player and manager, Harvey will do down in the history of our club and be talked about long after we’re all gone.
Joe joined Newcastle in 1946, a year after the end of Word War II which had stalled his football career and restricted him to guest appearances for several clubs around the country. A box to box midfielder, Joe would go on to help us win promotion to Division 1 in 1948.
Three years later began a golden period for not only the club in general, but for Harvey’s career. He was the integral and inspirational captain as Newcastle won back to back FA Cups in 1951 and ’52. The team would also have top 5 finishes in in the ’48/49 and 50/51 seasons. Joe was very much a no nonsense kind of player with exacting standards of those around him. As captain he was revered by the squad, who respected him totally. However, they feared him just as much! None other than Jackie Milburn noted that many of the players were petrified of Harvey and that running into him “was like hitting a bag of iron.”
Joe clocked up an impressive 224 appearances before retiring in 1953. He then went on to spend two years at the club as a trainer, while also learning his trade as a coach. In 1954, while still at Newcastle, Harvey took the job as manager of Crook Town and steered them to victory in the FA Amateur Cup. He would continue to work in the lower leagues at both Barrow and Workington before finally getting the Newcastle job in 1961.
Harvey would remain as Newcastle manager until the end of the ’74/’75 season, resigning after a 15th place finish. However, his years as manager cemented his place as a club legend. While in charge he took Newcastle to the 1974 FA Cup final – our first since 1955 – and also assembled teams that included players like John Tudor, Terry Hibbitt, Terry Mcdermott, Frank Clark, Alan Kennedy, David Craig, Wyn Davies, Irving Nattrass and Malcolm MacDonald; so he knew a player when he saw one. He remains the club’s longest serving manager to this day.
Without doubt Harvey’s greatest achievement as manager was in winning the 1969 Inter City Fairs Cup; the last trophy we would win for over 50 years (unless, in more desperate times, you insisted that the Intertoto Cup was also a triumph! I know I did…). So, until last March, Harvey’s triumph was the last shred of real glory that we all had to cling to – some of us for far longer than others!
Harvey’s half time pep talk in the second leg of the final will go down in Toon folklore. It wasn’t a moment of tactical genius. Nor was it some Churchillian battle cry. No, instead Harvey simply walked into the dressing room with his team 2-0 down and started by questioning the long faces. Then, when it was pointed out that they were losing and had been chasing shadows for the last 45 minutes, he told his boys that it was ok – “All you’ve got to do is get a goal and they’ll collapse. Score a goal and they’ll fold like a pack of cards.” And the rest is history. Despite the doubts among the players, Newcastle would score three second half goals and clinch the trophy with an aggregate score of 6-2.
Harvey was back to help the club out in 1980, taking over for a time as caretaker manager after the sacking of Bill McGarry.
Joe Harvey died in February of 1989, just over a year after Jackie Milburn. A plaque was unveiled in Joe’s honour in 2014. It was cleaned and restored some years later and can now be found at the Gallowgate End of the ground. Maybe not the statue that some had called for, but proof still that Harvey will forever be a legend at Newcastle United.
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