Alex Massie

Alexander Massie (13 March 1906 – 1977) was a Scottish footballer of the 1920s and 1930s, who played mainly as a right-half. He played for various Scottish clubs before joining Bury. After spells in the United States and Ireland, Massie returned to Scottish football in 1930 with Heart of Midlothian. His performances there earned him selection for the Scotland national football team and the Scottish League XI. Massie moved to Aston Villa in 1935. After retiring as a player in 1945, Massie became the manager of Aston Villa. He later managed Torquay United and Hereford United.

For the Scottish columnist, see Alex Massie (journalist).

Alex Massie
Personal information
Full name Alexander Massie[1]
Date of birth (1906-03-13)13 March 1906
Place of birth Possilpark, Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 20 September 1977(1977-09-20) (aged 71)
Place of death Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England[2]
Position(s) Right half
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Shawfield Juniors
Petershill
Benburb
Ashfield
1925–1927 Ayr United 24 (4)
1927–1928 Bury 17 (4)
1928–1930 Bethlehem Steel 32 (12)
1930 Dolphin (2)
1930–1935 Heart of Midlothian 181 (19)
1935–1939 Aston Villa 141 (5)
National team
1932–1938 Scotland 18 (1)
1932–1935 Scottish League XI 6 (1)
Teams managed
1945–1950 Aston Villa
1950–1951 Torquay United
1951–1952 Hereford United
Hertford Town
1973–1974 Welwyn Garden City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Player

Massie was born in Possilpark, Glasgow,[3] to William Spiers Massie, a weighing clerk, and Violet Shaw Massie.[1] He began his career with Shawfield Juniors, and later played for Petershill, Benburb, Ashfield, and Ayr United before joining Football League side Bury in January 1927.[4][3]

In 1928, he left Gigg Lane to play in the United States for Bethlehem Steel, supporting himself as a bookkeeper,[5] and in 1930 he joined Irish side Dolphin.[6] Later that year he returned to his native Scotland to join Heart of Midlothian.[4][7] His performances at wing-half, and occasionally at inside-forward soon won him international recognition, with his first full Scotland international cap coming on 19 September 1931 against Ireland.[8] Massie went on to be capped 18 times for Scotland, with his final game coming on 30 October 1937 against Wales, which was also the occasion of his only international goal.[9][10] He also played in an unofficial 'King's Silver Jubilee' international in 1935[11] and represented the Scottish League XI.[12]

Massie moved to Aston Villa in December 1935,[13] but was unable to prevent their first ever relegation at the end of the 1935–36 season. He was still with the Villains when they gained promotion back to the top division two years later.

Manager

Massie retired from playing at end of the 1944–45 wartime season; he was appointed manager of Aston Villa in August 1945 and led them to top ten finishes in his first three seasons and twelfth place the following year, despite not having complete control of the playing side of things at Villa Park. However, in August 1950 he left the club.

In 1950 he was appointed as manager of Torquay United as successor to Bob John, although he only remained as manager until 1951.[14]

He returned to management with Hereford United the following January, where he remained as manager until December 1952. He later managed Hertford Town and Welwyn Garden City the later in which he won the South Midlands League Premier Division in 1972–73.[15][16][17]

Honours

Aston Villa

Welwyn Garden City

  • South Midlands League Premier Division: 1972–73[15]

See also

References
  1. "1906 MASSIE, ALEXANDER (Statutory registers Births 644/6 530)". Scotland's People. National Records of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon.
  2. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007
  3. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.
  4. John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. 1930 United States Federal Census
  6. Football League of the Irish Free State [1929-30-to-1938-39 goalscorers], Historical Lineups
  7. "Alex Massie: Right Half". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  8. "Scottish FA site – Scotland v N Ireland 19/9/31". Scottishfa.co.uk.
  9. Alex Massie at the Scottish Football Association
  10. "[Scotland player, including unofficial matches] Alexander Massie". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  11. Scotland Win Jubilee International, The Glasgow Herald, 22 August 1935
  12. "[SFL player] Alexander Massie". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  13. Massie, Alex, Aston Villa Player Database
  14. "Managers". Torquay United. mehstg.com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  15. "Welwyn Garden City 2 Wembley 1: Citizens clinch title". Welwyn Hatfield Times. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. Our History Archived 25 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Hertford Town F.C.
  17. History Welwyn Garden City F.C.
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