Jackie Milburn

Jackie Milburn (1924-1988), 'Wor Jackie', Newcastle United's centre-forward and an England international, was the son of an Ashington coal-cutter and served his time as a colliery fitter; he went on working at Hazlerigg Colliery, underground until 1948 and then on the surface, through his first seasons as a professional, racing to St James' Park in his pit clothes.

The mining history in this record

Milburn was born on 11 May 1924 at 14 Sixth Row, Ashington, in the flat of his grandparents' house. His father, Alec, was a coal-cutter at the colliery whose pit yard could be seen from the bedroom window, and Jackie later remembered shivering as he watched his father go down the shaft. He left school at fourteen telling his father he was too claustrophobic to follow him into mining, but at sixteen he took an apprenticeship as a fitter with the Ashington Coal Company, a reserved occupation that kept him from call-up during the war.

He signed for Newcastle United after a trial in 1943, scoring six goals in the second half of his second trial match, and kept his job at the pit. When league football resumed in 1946 he was still a fitter at Hazlerigg Colliery, and he would ride to matches on an old motorcycle in his pit gear. Before the 1948-49 season he was found to have external otitis, an ear inflammation his doctor linked to coal dust, which stopped him working underground; he carried on in surface work for a time before giving up the colliery for the 12 pounds a week Newcastle paid him. Reporting on the club's American tour of 1949, a Canadian paper still called him a pit electrician.

People

Jackie Milburn, footballer and colliery fitter. Alec Milburn, his father, a coal-cutter at Ashington.

Legacy today

Milburn won the FA Cup with Newcastle in 1951, 1952 and 1955, scoring both goals in the 1951 final, and played for England. He died of lung cancer at Ashington on 9 October 1988; tens of thousands lined the streets for his funeral. Three statues of him were made: one stands at Ashington Leisure Centre and one outside St James' Park. In 1991 a steam locomotive that had hauled coal at Ashington Colliery was renamed Jackie Milburn in his honour.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Milburn's father was a coal-cutter at the colliery in Ashington. (documented fact) ^1,2
• At sixteen he became an apprentice fitter at a local colliery, with the Ashington Coal Company, a reserved occupation. (documented fact) ^1,2
• He was still a fitter at Hazlerigg Colliery when league football resumed in 1946. (documented fact) ^1,2
• External otitis, linked to coal dust, stopped him working underground at Hazlerigg before the 1948-49 season. (documented fact) ^1,2
• He was often seen riding to St James' Park after work in full pit gear. (later recollection) ²
• In 1991 a steam locomotive that had hauled coal at Ashington Colliery was renamed Jackie Milburn. (documented fact) ¹

Mines

• Ashington Colliery — Northumberland
  Milburn's father was a coal-cutter at Ashington and Jackie served his apprenticeship as a fitter with the Ashington Coal Company; a locomotive from the colliery was named after him in 1991.
• Hazlerigg Colliery — Tyne and Wear
  Milburn worked as a fitter at Hazlerigg Colliery into his first seasons with Newcastle United, underground until ear disease stopped him in 1948.

Real-world mining concepts used here

Coal, Coal Cutter, Colliery, Shaft

Sources

1. (secondary) Jackie Milburn — Wikipedia
2. (secondary) Jackie Milburn (Spartacus Educational) — Spartacus Educational

Record created: 6 October 2026 · Last researched: 6 October 2026