Jackie Mudie

Jackie Mudie
Personal information
Full name John Knight Mudie
Date of birth (1930-04-10)10 April 1930
Place of birth Dundee, Scotland
Date of death 2 March 1992(1992-03-02) (aged 61)
Place of death Stoke-on-Trent, England
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Playing position Centre-forward
Youth career
Lochee Harp
Stobswell Juniors
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1947–1961 Blackpool 324 (144)
1961–1963 Stoke City 89 (32)
1961 → Toronto City (loan)
1963–1967 Port Vale 54 (9)
1967 Oswestry Town 3 (0)
Total 467 (185)
National team
1956–1958 Scotland 17 (9)
Teams managed
1965–1967 Port Vale
(jointly with Stanley Matthews)
1973 Northwich Victoria
1978 Cleveland Cobras

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

John "Jackie" Knight Mudie (10 April 1930 – 2 March 1992) was a Scottish international footballer who played as a forward. He won seventeen caps for his country, helping the Scots to qualify for the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

Starting his career with Blackpool in 1947, he went on to spend the next fourteen years with the club, helping them to the FA Cup Final in 1951 and 1953, the latter of which ended in victory for the "Tangerines". In all he scored 144 league goals for the club. He then spent 1961 to 1963 at Stoke City, helping them to the Second Division title in 1962–63, also spending a brief time on loan with Canadian club Toronto City. After signing with Port Vale in 1963, he spent 1965 to 1967 as the club's joint-manager, along with his long-time friend and teammate Stanley Matthews. He became a coach after he finished his career with Oswestry Town in 1967, though he later managed Northwich Victoria in 1973 and then American side Cleveland Cobras for a spell in 1978.

Biography

Early years

Born in Dundee, Jackie Mudie started his footballing career with local junior sides Lochee Harp and Stobswell Juniors.

Blackpool

Mudie joined Blackpool in 1946, signing professional terms a year later. He was at the club throughout the 1950s, which are the most successful decade in the club's history.

After three years developing in the reserves, he made his debut on 8 March 1950, against Liverpool, scoring the only goal in a 1–0 win at Anfield. The following season he featured regularly as Blackpool challenged in the league and reached the 1951 FA Cup Final. Newcastle United proved too strong at Wembley, however, and two goals from Jackie Milburn took the trophy to the North-East. After the loss, Blackpool signed Ernie Taylor, and Mudie lost his place. Eventually, though, he worked his way back into the team.

In 1952–53, Blackpool bounced back from their disappointment in 1951's FA Cup Final when Mudie's last-minute goal against Tottenham Hotspur in that season's semi-final sealed a return to Wembley, this time to face Bolton Wanderers. This match is universally remembered as the "Matthews Final", due to the veteran winger's dazzling skills helping to turn a 3–1 deficit into a 4–3 win for Blackpool. Although Matthews and hat-trick scorer Stan Mortensen understandably took the limelight, Matthews himself would later acknowledge the importance of the selfless Mudie, noting that his "skill and work for others often made some of us look better than we really were".[1]

In his early career, Mudie was considered an inside forward, however, when Mortensen was transferred to Hull City in 1955, Mudie became Blackpool's regular centre-forward, despite his diminutive stature. This change of position, combined his scoring 22 and 38 goals in consecutive seasons, enabled him to achieve international recognition and he made his international debut against Wales in 1956. His hat-trick in a 4–2 win against Spain in 1957 helped Scotland qualify for the following year's World Cup and he was subsequently selected in the squad that travelled to Sweden. Scotland flattered to deceive in the Finals, though, and an early exit led the international selectors to look to younger players, effectively ending Mudie's international career with 17 caps and nine goals to his name.

Stoke City

Stoke City signed Mudie, in March 1961 for £8,500, and he scored just five minutes into his debut against Scunthorpe United.[2][3] He ended the 1960–61 season with three goals from 13 matches as Stoke flirted precariously with relegation.[3] In the summer of 1961 Mudie spent the summer months playing for Canadian side Toronto City along with Stanley Matthews, Danny Blanchflower and Johnny Haynes.[3] After a poor start to the 1961–62 campaign, Stoke's attendances at the Victoria Ground dropped alarmingly below the 10,000 mark.[3] To address the situation manager Tony Waddington brought back Stanley Matthews to the club and it had the desired effect with 35,974 attending the next match against Huddersfield Town.[3] Matthews's return also rekindled his partnership with Mudie which proved vital to winning the Second Division title in 1962–63 as Mudie scored 20 goals, including the opening goal in title decider against Luton Town.[3]

Port Vale

Mudie moved to Stoke's local rivals Port Vale in November 1963 along with Ron Wilson in a "package" deal of between £12,000 and £15,000.[4]

Initially a regular, the ageing Mudie could not play on hard surfaces due to the risk of muscle jarring, he then lost his first team place on any surface in August 1964.[5] After Freddie Steele's departure, Mudie became player-manager in February 1965, combining for a third time with boyhood Vale supporter Matthews, who became the Valiants' general-manager a few months later after playing his final First Division match for Stoke against Fulham five days after his 50th birthday. "We can fight our way out of this crisis," Mudie said at the time. "We must do. Although we are down at the bottom of the table, we are not out."[6] His strategy was to spend money to bring in players from the North East, though this would ultimately prove to be an unsuccessful strategy.[7] He resigned in May 1967, citing 'personal reasons'.[5]

Later years

After his playing retirement, Mudie continued to live in Stoke-on-Trent, his adopted hometown, setting up a painting and decorating business.[8] He had brief spells coaching at Oswestry Town, Crewe Alexandra (where he was assistant manager), Northwich Victoria and Eastwood Town and also spent one summer in America, as coach of the Cleveland Cobras in 1978. He also spent time in South Africa, as a scout for Johannesburg Rangers.[5] He later set up a painting and decorating business.[3]

Mudie died in Stoke in 1992, aged 61, two years after being diagnosed with cancer. Under Valiant 2001, his son, Graham, continued the Port Vale connection by working as a director of the club.

Style of play

"[He had] superb ball control – he could kill a ball and lay it off with one touch ... his speed of footwork bamboozled even the best of defenders ... his reading of a game proved him a cerebral player. His quick and accurate passing opened and spread defences effortlessly. He was also a busy player who would pop up here and there. Just when a defender thought he had him in his pocket, with a sudden turn and burst of speed, he would disappear."
— Teammate and close friend Stanley Matthews touched on Mudie in his autobiography.[9]

Career statistics

Club

Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Blackpool 1949–50 First Division 81000081
1950–51 371783004520
1951–52 84000084
1952–53 2057100276
1953–54 251110002611
1954–55 2471000257
1955–56 422210004322
1956–57 383246004238
1957–58 341800004018
1958–59 401460004614
1959–60 3192000339
1960–61 1541110175
Total 322144311110365155
Stoke City 1960–61 Second Division 1330000133
1961–62 3261120357
1962–63 392000104020
1963–64 First Division 43001053
Total 883211409333
Port Vale 1963–64 Third Division 1863100217
1964–65 1821000192
1965–66 Fourth Division 1313110172
1966–67 50200070
Total 54992106411
Career Total 464185411470512199

International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 November 1956 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Yugoslavia 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 8 May 1957 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Spain 1–0 4–2 WCQG9
3 8 May 1957 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Spain 3–2 4–2 WCQG9
4 8 May 1957 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Spain 4–2 4–2 WCQG9
5 19 May 1957 St. Jakob-Park, Basel   Switzerland 1–1 2–1 WCQG9
6 22 May 1957 Neckarstadion, Stuttgart  West Germany 2–0 3–1 Friendly
7 6 November 1957 Hampden Park, Glasgow   Switzerland 2–1 3–2 WCQG9
8 7 May 1958 Hampden Park, Glasgow  Hungary 1–0 1–1 Friendly
9 11 June 1958 Idrottsparken, Norrköping  Paraguay 1–1 2–3 WCG2

Honours

Blackpool

Stoke City

Notes

  1. ↑ Stanley Matthews in 1992, quoted in Scottish Football Heroes, p. 64.
  2. ↑ Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992, p. 110. Breedon Books Sport
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287-55-4.
  4. ↑ King, Ray. Port Vale FC: The Valiants in the 50s and 60s. Cheshire: Staffordshire Sentinel Newspapers Limited. p. 94. ISBN 1-84547-090-7.
  5. 1 2 3 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 209. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  6. ↑ Gillatt, Peter (30 November 2009). Blackpool FC On This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-905411-50-2.
  7. ↑ Harper, Chris (17 February 1975). "Meet the Managers". The Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  8. ↑ Fissler, Neil. "Port Vale – M". where-are-they-now.co.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  9. ↑ Matthews, Stanley; Les Scott (2000), The Way It Was, Headline, p. 360, ISBN 0-7472-6427-9 Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthor= (help)

References

External links

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