Newcastle United's First Ever Game

Let the arguments begin…

1. 1. Northern League - December 10, 1892 vs. Middlesbrough Ironopolis - view match details
   2. Friendly - December 24, 1892 vs. Middlesbrough - view match details
   3. Friendly - December 31, 1892 vs. Corinthian - view match details
   4. Football Association Challenge Cup - January 21, 1893 vs. Middlesbrough - view match details

   It could be strongly argued that any of the above were in fact United's first game. This due to the fact that Newcastle East End took the decision to change their name on Friday 9th December, however, the English Football Association had not sanctioned the name change until their meeting at the beginning of the week leading up to the Middlesbrough game. This can be further complication by some reports indicating that the decision to ratify the name change included the overrider that this would take effect upon their game against the Corinthian on Saturday, December 31, 1892. NB: I have approached the Football Association for clarificationon on this matter but, to-date, have not received a response, I'll update this entry as soon as I get one.

   So, there you go, you have four matches to choose from: 10/12/1892 vs. Ironopolis, the day after the club changed it's name; 24/12/1892 vs. Middlesbrough, the first match after the FA meeting; 31/12/1892 vs. Corinthian, the match mentioned in some reports; 21/01/1893 vs. Middlesbrough, the first match in a Football Association sanctioned competition. Personally my preference would be to accept the match against the ’Nops being the first, simply because this is when the club itself adopted the name. Sanctioning, through various bodies, always causes delays to what is generally already accepted, though I do use the more widely accepted game against Middlesbrough on 24/12/1892 to be the first match in which I display Newcastle as being United.

   It must be noted that, for the sake of clarity, this site begins match numbering from 24/09/1892 vs. Sheffield United. Admittedly United were still East End on that date but I use it simply because it is the first competitive game of the season in which they changed their name.

2. FA League Division Two - September 2, 1893 vs. Woolwich Arsenal - view match details

Some more 'First' Games listed by date order

• FA Cup - January 21, 1893 vs. Middlesbrough - view match details
• FA League Division 1 - September 03, 1898 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers - view match details
• League Cup - October 10, 1960 vs. Colchester. United lost 4-1 - view match details
• Inter Cities Fairs Cup - September 11, 1968 vs. Feyenoord. United won 4-0 - view match details
• UEFA Cup - September 14, 1977 vs. Bohemians. United played a goaless draw - view match details
• Premiership - August 14, 1993 vs. Tottenham Hotspur - view match details
• European Champions League - August 13, 1997 vs. Croatia Zagreb. United won 2-1 - view match details
  It could be tentatively argued that United's first Champions League game was vs. Barcelona on 17/09/1997 as the game vs. Crotia was a qualifier for the group stages.

Newcastle United's First Goal

Let the arguments continue…

Again not to confuse you, and to satisfy the purists amongst you, there are different possibilities as to who scored United's first goal, and it all depends upon which of the first games listed above you subscribe to. So here are your options:

1. Harry Reay in the Northern League - December 10, 1892 vs. Middlesbrough Ironopolis - view match details
2. Jimmy McIntosh in the Friendly - December 24, 1892 vs. Middlesbrough - view match details
3. Joe McKane in the Friendly - December 31, 1892 vs. Corinthian - view match details
4. Harry Reay in the FA Cup - January 21, 1893 vs. Middlesbrough - view match details

Some more 'First' Goals listed by date order

• FA Cup - Harry Reay vs. Middlesbrough on January 21, 1893 - view match details
• FA League Division 1 - Jock Peddie vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 03, 1898 - view match details
• League Cup - Duncan Neale vs. Colchester on October 10, 1960. United lost 1-4 - view match details
• Inter Cities Fairs Cup - Jim Scott vs. Feyenoord on September 11, 1968. United won 4-0 - view match details
• UEFA Cup - Tommy Craig vs. Bohemians on September 28, 1977 . This was the Second Leg, the first was a goaless draw - view match details

• Premiership
  There are two options for you to choose from here, Newcastle's actual first goal, or the first goal scored by a Newcastle player, this being because the first Premiership goal was an own goal, so here are your two choices:

  1. Peter Atherton (Coventry) vs. Coventry City on 18/08/1993 - - view match details
  2. Andy Cole vs. Manchester United on August 21, 1993 - view match details
• European Champions League - John Beresford vs. Croatia Zagreb on August 13, 1997 . United won 2-1 - view match details

  Again, there could be an argument over United's first Champions League goal as the game vs. Crotia was a qualifier for the group stages. Therefore the first goal would belong to Tino Asprilla vs. Barcelona on 17/09/1997

Newcastle United's First Hat-Trick

This time their can be no confusion or argument as no United player scored a hat-trick in the Northern League, so the first hat-trick belongs to:

• Willie Thompson vs. Woolwich Arsenal on September 30, 1893 in the FA League Division Two - view match details

  Its worth noting that there were two hat-tricks scored in this game, the one by Thompson and the other by Joseph Wallace, making this United's first "double" hat-trick as well.

First Hat-Tricks by Competition...

• FA Cup - Bill Appleyard vs. Grimsby on March 07, 1908 - view match details
• FA League Division 1 - Jock Peddie vs. Notts County on October 26, 1901 - view match details
• League Cup - Malcolm MacDonald vs. Doncaster on October 08, 1973 - view match details
• Inter Cities Fairs Cup - Bobby Moncur vs. Újpesti Dózsa in the "Final".
  This is a bit contentious, well actually very contentious, as the final was a two-legged affair and Moncur scored his three goals over those legs. This is however the only time a United player scored three goals "in one game" in this competition.
• UEFA Cup - Robert Lee vs. Royal Antwerp on September 13, 1994 - view match details
• Premiership - Peter Beardsley vs. Wimbledon on October 30, 1993 - view match details
• European Champions League - Tino Asprilla vs. Barcelona on September 17, 1997 . United won 3-2 - view match details

Newcastle United's First Substitute

Depending upon your pooint of view there are two possibilities as to whom was the ’first’ substitute. This as some may not count the fact that an ’unused substitute’ qualifies. Personally I do, so here are both - the first ’named’ and the first ’used’ substitutes.

• First ’named’ substitute was Albert Bennett. He has the distinction of being the first-ever player to be named as a substitute for Newcastle, when he took to the bench in the game against Nottingham Forest on August 21, 1965. The game ending in a 2-2 draw and Bennett remained ’unused’.
• First ’used’ substitute was Ollie Burton. Burton replaced the injured Trevor Hockey in the 2-0 victory over Northampton on 04/09/1965 at St James's Park thus becoming the first-ever substitute to be ’used’ by Newcastle.