Charlie Crowe
Encyclopedia
Charles "Charlie" Crowe was an English
footballer
who played as a defender
. He spent the majority of his career at his hometown club Newcastle United
. He also spent a season at Mansfield
at the end of his career.
in October 1944. At the time he joined Newcastle, the club were only able to play friendly matches as World War II
was taking place and all the football leagues in England were suspended. He made 24 appearances in two years for Newcastle as a left-back.
He made his Football League debut on 5 January 1946 in a match against Barnsley
. However he only made four appearances for Newcastle from January until the end of the 1945–46 season. During the 1947–48 season he featured in just two league games as the club won promotion to the Football League First Division
. Crowe found his chances limited during the following years and made only a handful of appearances.
Crowe became a regular member of the Newcastle team in the 1950–51 season, a very successful year for the club in which they finished fourth in the First Division in only their third season back at that level. Crowe was also part of the side that reached the FA Cup Final
and participated in a 2–0 victory against Blackpool
. Crowe won his only trophy in this match as, despite Newcastle winning the FA Cup a further two times before the end of his career, he did not play in the 1952 Final and missed the 1955
match against Manchester City
through injury. Crowe had been playing mainly in the reserves for the previous couple of seasons but re-established himself as the first-choice left-half. He was also appointed as captain in place of Joe Harvey
.
He moved to Mansfield
in February and worked as player-coach in the 1956–57 season. He was selected for the Third Division North representative team
in October 1957.
became the manager but he was unimpressed by the wage being offered. He briefly managed in Egypt
but was forced to return to England due to the Suez Crisis
in the country.
Paul Joannou wrote in his book about the history of Newcastle United, The Black 'n' White Alphabet, "A player who rarely took the headlines, Crowe got on with the rough and tumble in the middle of the field as a spoiler of the opposition's tactics and winner of the ball, while he was also used to good effect as a marker."
in 1998 while he was living with his 82-year-old wife Ruth in Wallsend
. He subsequently moved to Hunter Hall care-home.
In 2009 he began the "Charlie Crowe Appeal" with the aim of helping Alzheimer sufferers. His daughter Lesley Edmondson started a campaign that aimed to raise £1.5 million to buy a medical scanner for Newcastle University’s Campus for Aging and Vitality that can detect early signs of the disease. The campaign was backed by former Newcastle players and managers such as Alan Shearer
, Sir Bobby Robson and actor Kevin Whately
. A book entitled "Charlie Crowe's Scrapbook" was to be re-released as one of the ways of raising money.
A television programme was broadcast on the BBC
show Inside Out
for North East England
and Cumbria
in March 2009. He was 85 years old and the last surviving player from the 1951 FA Cup winning side. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8541863.stm
Charlie Crowe died in North Tyneside General Hospital
on 27 February 2010. Newcastle United dedicated their 2-1 away win over Watford to him thanks to Andy Carroll
and Fabricio Coloccini
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who played as a defender
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
. He spent the majority of his career at his hometown club Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
. He also spent a season at Mansfield
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
at the end of his career.
Career
Crowe was born in Newcastle in 1924. In his teenage years he appeared for the local football teams Heaton & Byker Youth Club and Wallsend St. Lukes. He signed for the biggest team in the city Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
in October 1944. At the time he joined Newcastle, the club were only able to play friendly matches as World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was taking place and all the football leagues in England were suspended. He made 24 appearances in two years for Newcastle as a left-back.
He made his Football League debut on 5 January 1946 in a match against Barnsley
Barnsley F.C.
Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...
. However he only made four appearances for Newcastle from January until the end of the 1945–46 season. During the 1947–48 season he featured in just two league games as the club won promotion to the Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
. Crowe found his chances limited during the following years and made only a handful of appearances.
Crowe became a regular member of the Newcastle team in the 1950–51 season, a very successful year for the club in which they finished fourth in the First Division in only their third season back at that level. Crowe was also part of the side that reached the FA Cup Final
1951 FA Cup Final
The 1951 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Blackpool at Wembley on 28 April 1951. Newcastle won 2–0, with both goals scored by Jackie Milburn....
and participated in a 2–0 victory against Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
. Crowe won his only trophy in this match as, despite Newcastle winning the FA Cup a further two times before the end of his career, he did not play in the 1952 Final and missed the 1955
1955 FA Cup Final
The 1955 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Manchester City at Wembley. Newcastle won 3–1, with goals from Jackie Milburn in the first minute , Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah. Bobby Johnstone scored City's goal...
match against Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
through injury. Crowe had been playing mainly in the reserves for the previous couple of seasons but re-established himself as the first-choice left-half. He was also appointed as captain in place of Joe Harvey
Joe Harvey
Joe Harvey was an English football player and later manager. He spent much of his career at Newcastle United; he was the club's longest serving captain, manager, and, as of the 2009 – 10 season the last to win a major trophy....
.
He moved to Mansfield
Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...
in February and worked as player-coach in the 1956–57 season. He was selected for the Third Division North representative team
Football League Third Division North vs. South Representative Games
The Third Division North and Third Division South of The Football League was a level in English association football, which ran from 1921 to 1958.From 1954–55 season until 1957–58 season, there was a series of games between teams representing the Third Division North and the Third Division South.-...
in October 1957.
Retirement
Charlie Crowe retired from the game in 1957 at the age of 33, having made 178 appearances in the league for Newcastle and scoring five goals from defence. Many referred to him by his famous name Mr. Chuckles. He was offered a coaching job at Newcastle when Charlie MittenCharlie Mitten
Charles "Charlie" Mitten was an English football player, who came through the junior ranks at Manchester United...
became the manager but he was unimpressed by the wage being offered. He briefly managed in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
but was forced to return to England due to the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
in the country.
Paul Joannou wrote in his book about the history of Newcastle United, The Black 'n' White Alphabet, "A player who rarely took the headlines, Crowe got on with the rough and tumble in the middle of the field as a spoiler of the opposition's tactics and winner of the ball, while he was also used to good effect as a marker."
Alzheimer's
Crowe was diagnosed with Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
in 1998 while he was living with his 82-year-old wife Ruth in Wallsend
Wallsend
Wallsend is an area in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 42,842.-Romans:...
. He subsequently moved to Hunter Hall care-home.
In 2009 he began the "Charlie Crowe Appeal" with the aim of helping Alzheimer sufferers. His daughter Lesley Edmondson started a campaign that aimed to raise £1.5 million to buy a medical scanner for Newcastle University’s Campus for Aging and Vitality that can detect early signs of the disease. The campaign was backed by former Newcastle players and managers such as Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
, Sir Bobby Robson and actor Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately
Kevin Whately is an English actor.Whately is known for his starring role as Neville Hope in the British television comedy Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, his role as Dr Jack Kerruish in the drama series Peak Practice, and as Robert "Robbie" Lewis in the crime dramas Inspector Morse and...
. A book entitled "Charlie Crowe's Scrapbook" was to be re-released as one of the ways of raising money.
A television programme was broadcast on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
show Inside Out
Inside Out
Inside Out was a hardcore punk band from Orange County, California. It was fronted by Zack de la Rocha, later of Rage Against the Machine.-Biography:...
for North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
and Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
in March 2009. He was 85 years old and the last surviving player from the 1951 FA Cup winning side. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8541863.stm
Charlie Crowe died in North Tyneside General Hospital
North Tyneside General Hospital
North Tyneside General Hospital is part of Northumbria NHS Trust. It is closely associated with Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington. It is the main hospital serving the North Tyneside area...
on 27 February 2010. Newcastle United dedicated their 2-1 away win over Watford to him thanks to Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll
Andrew Thomas "Andy" Carroll is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team....
and Fabricio Coloccini
Fabricio Coloccini
Fabricio Coloccini is an Argentine football defender who currently captains Premier League club Newcastle United, and plays for the Argentine national team. At the age of 29, Coloccini has already represented numerous football clubs, however it was his successful spell at Deportivo La Coruña where...
.
As a player
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winner: 19511951 FA Cup FinalThe 1951 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Blackpool at Wembley on 28 April 1951. Newcastle won 2–0, with both goals scored by Jackie Milburn....
, 1952 and 19551955 FA Cup FinalThe 1955 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Manchester City at Wembley. Newcastle won 3–1, with goals from Jackie Milburn in the first minute , Bobby Mitchell and George Hannah. Bobby Johnstone scored City's goal...