Jimmy Seed
Encyclopedia
James Marshall "Jimmy" Seed (born Blackhill, Consett 25 March 1895, died July 1966) was an English
footballer
and football manager.
Despite being born in Blackhill, Seed was brought up in the village of Whitburn
on the coast just to the north of Sunderland. The family moving when Jimmy was only two years old .
for Whitburn F.C. along with his brother Angus who would have a short professional career with Leicester Fosse
. After scoring over 80 goals for Whitburn Jimmy had unsuccessful trials at South Shields
and Sunderland
. However Sunderland manager Bob Kyle
decided to give Seed a second chance this time playing him at inside right
instead of centre forward
in a North Eastern League
match against Wallsend
. Seed scored a hat-trick in the match and was promptly signed by Sunderland as a professional in April 1914.
. Official League football was suspended at the end of that season because of the outbreak of World War I
. The 20 year old Seed joined the 8th battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment and was drafted to France
. In the last months of the war he was gassed and returned to England to convalesce. With the secession of hostilities, Seed played a Victory League match for Sunderland against Durham City
in 1918, however he was not fit and had a poor game. On the strength of that performance the Sunderland directors decided that Seed’s wartime experience had finished him as a footballer and gave him a free transfer. Seed never played an official first team game for Sunderland.
(former Wales
international), the manager of Welsh
non League
team Mid Rhondda
who were based in the town of Tonypandy
. Price offered Seed a chance to play for the South Wales club which was accepted and he signed for them in July 1919. Seed joined former England international Joe Bache
and ex-team mate from Sunderland Frank Pattison in the Mid-Rhondda side and they had a successful time in the seven months that Seed was with them, winning both the Southern League Division Two
and Welsh League
titles. Seed's good form attracted the attention of Tottenham Hotspur manager Peter McWilliam
and in January 1920 he signed for the north London
side for a fee of £250, a move which caused some antagonism amongst supporters in Tonypandy.
. Seed played five games in the remainder of the 1919-20 season, scoring two goals as Spurs ran away with the Division Two
title. Seed was a virtual ever present for Spurs in the following seven seasons in Division One
. The 1920-21 season saw Tottenham lift the FA Cup
with Seed playing in all six matches in the cup run, scoring five goals including a hat trick against Bradford City in the second round. Just two months after getting his cup winners medal Seed was called up for the first of this five England caps on 21 May 1921 against Belgium, he never got a long run in the international side, playing his final game in April 1925.
1921-22 saw Tottenham finish runners up to Liverpool
in Division One with Seed scoring 10 goals in 36 appearances. In February 1927 Peter McWilliam resigned as Spurs manager, being replaced by Billy Minter
. Minter obviously thought the 32 year old Seed was reaching the end of his career with a young Taffy O'Callaghan
ready to take his place, he promptly cut Seed’s wages from £8 to £7 a week. Seeds reaction to this was to ask to be released by the club at the end of the 1926-27 season and after looking like taking the player-managers job at Aldershot
he eventually signed for Sheffield Wednesday in a part exchange deal involving Darkie Lowdell and a cash adjustment paid by Spurs.
. During the first part of the season Seed was asked to play in numerous different positions by manager Bob Brown
as Wednesday struggled in Division One. By mid March 1928 they had won only six matches out of 32 and were seven points adrift at the foot of the table. At that stage Seed was made team captain with existing skipper Fred Keen being dropped, Ellis Rimmer
was bought from Tranmere Rovers
and these changes triggered an amazing recovery. Wednesday picked up 17 points out of a possible 20 in the last ten matches and avoided relegation by a point. The irony was that it was Seed’s old club Tottenham who were relegated on the final day of the season.
By his own admission Seed did not play his best football of his career at Wednesday but his experience and know-how as captain was the catalyst that drove a young and talented Wednesday side to two successive Division One championships in the following two seasons. Seed played four seasons at Hillsborough
but by the 1930-31 season, aged 35, he was badly hampered by a knee injury and was often limping before the end of the games, he often played even though he was not fully fit because of his talismanic influence on the team. After damaging the ligaments in his right knee in a match against Newcastle United
at Christmas 1931 he realised his playing days were over and he retired in April of that year to start his managerial career.
manager Herbert Chapman
who told Seed that Arsenal had plans to buy Orient and turn them into a nursery club for Arsenal. Seed commenced the job at £12 a week but within a short time Arsenal were forced to abandon their plans after being told by the Football League that they were unlawful. Without the financial backing of Arsenal, Orient had very little money and the team struggled. In Seed’s first season as manager the team finished 16th and then in the following 1932-33 campaign they avoided having to seek re-election on goal difference. In September 1933 he accepted the offer of the manager's job at Charlton Athletic
despite Sheffield Wednesday trying to tempt Seed back to Hillsborough as a replacement for the manager Bob Brown.
to the First Division
. In Charlton's first season in the top-flight, they finished runners-up behind Manchester City
in 1937. They finished third and fourth in the final two seasons before the outbreak of the Second World War.
He led the team into a variety of regional competitions set up during the war and Charlton reached a Wembley final for the first time in 1943. They were beaten 7–1 by Arsenal
in the War Cup
. They were more successful in 1944, when captain Don Welsh
lifted the trophy following a 3–1 triumph over Chelsea
.
They contested the first two post-war FA Cup Finals
at Wembley, which were noted for the ball bursting on both occasions. They were well beaten 4–1
by Derby County
in 1946, but a Chris Duffy goal beat Burnley
1–0
in 1947.
Despite the revenues generated by very large home attendances, Charlton wouldn't allow Seed to invest in new players (he 'discovered' Stanley Matthews
but wasn't allowed to sign him) and so The Addicks were unable to repeat their pre-war success in the First Division, finishing no higher than ninth in the initial six seasons after the conflict. They narrowly missed relegation in 1949–50 with a 20th position finish, but they finished fifth in 1952–53. Following two bottom-half-of-the-table finishes, Seed endured a dreadful start to the 1956–57 season, losing their first five matches, before being asked for his resignation in September 1956.
in January 1957, he took over as caretaker manager in January 1958 for a short while after Pat Beasley
had left the club. When new Bristol boss Peter Doherty
took over, Seed moved to manage Millwall
in the early months of 1958. He got off to a terrible start at The Den
going nine matches without a win. The team eventually finished 23rd in Division Three South having to apply for re-election. The following season saw Millwall playing in the new Football League Fourth Division
eventually finishing 9th. Seed stepped down as Millwall manager at the end of the 1958-59 campaign but stayed with the club as advisor and then as a club director. He continued as a director of Millwall until his death on 16 July 1966, aged 71.
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...
and football manager.
Despite being born in Blackhill, Seed was brought up in the village of Whitburn
Whitburn, South Tyneside
Whitburn is a village in South Tyneside, on the coast of North East England. It lies just to the north of the City of Sunderland in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear. Until 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 came into being, it was part of County Durham...
on the coast just to the north of Sunderland. The family moving when Jimmy was only two years old .
Playing career
On leaving school Seed worked at Whitburn colliery and played football in the Wearside LeagueWearside Football League
The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in England. It consists of a single division which sits at step 7 of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Division Two. Following the 2007-08 season, Whitehaven moved up to the Northern League, as...
for Whitburn F.C. along with his brother Angus who would have a short professional career with Leicester Fosse
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
. After scoring over 80 goals for Whitburn Jimmy had unsuccessful trials at South Shields
South Shields F.C.
South Shields F.C. are a football club based in South Shields, England. They have a long and complicated history, with three distinct incarnations taking the name...
and Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
. However Sunderland manager Bob Kyle
Bob Kyle
Robert H. "Bob" Kyle was a Northern Irish football manager during the 1900s, 1910s and 1920s.A native of Belfast, Kyle was club secretary at Distillery in the Irish League from June 1897 to 1905...
decided to give Seed a second chance this time playing him at inside right
Inside forward
In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...
instead of centre forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
in a North Eastern League
North Eastern League
The North Eastern League was a football league for teams in the North East of England.The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play...
match against 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:...
. Seed scored a hat-trick in the match and was promptly signed by Sunderland as a professional in April 1914.
Sunderland
Seed spent the 1914-15 season playing in Sunderland reserves, he scored plenty of goals as the team lifted the Durham Senior CupDurham Challenge Cup
The Durham County Challenge Cup is an annual football competition held between the clubs of the Durham County Football Association which was first played in 1884...
. Official League football was suspended at the end of that season because of the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The 20 year old Seed joined the 8th battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment and was drafted to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In the last months of the war he was gassed and returned to England to convalesce. With the secession of hostilities, Seed played a Victory League match for Sunderland against Durham City
Durham City A.F.C.
Durham City A.F.C. are an English football club that currently plays in the Northern Premier League Division One North. They are based in the city of Durham in North East England.-History:...
in 1918, however he was not fit and had a poor game. On the strength of that performance the Sunderland directors decided that Seed’s wartime experience had finished him as a footballer and gave him a free transfer. Seed never played an official first team game for Sunderland.
Mid Rhondda
Seed’s football career was rescued by Haydn PriceHaydn Price
Ioan Haydn Price was a Welsh footballer who played at wing half or centre forward for various clubs in the period prior to World War I, before brief spells as a manager with Walsall and Grimsby Town.-Playing career:...
(former Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
international), the manager of Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
non League
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
team Mid Rhondda
Mid Rhondda F.C.
Mid Rhondda Football Club was an association football team, based in Tonypandy, Wales that was formed in 1912. Mid Rhondda were one of the earlier South Wales teams to form, as competition from rugby union within the Rhondda Valleys was very strong...
who were based in the town of Tonypandy
Tonypandy
Tonypandy is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, today Tonypandy is best known as the site of the Tonypandy Riots....
. Price offered Seed a chance to play for the South Wales club which was accepted and he signed for them in July 1919. Seed joined former England international Joe Bache
Joseph Bache
Joseph William Bache , born in Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, was a footballer who played for Aston Villa.Joe Bache was a prolific centre forward for Aston Villa between 1900 and 1919...
and ex-team mate from Sunderland Frank Pattison in the Mid-Rhondda side and they had a successful time in the seven months that Seed was with them, winning both the Southern League Division Two
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
and Welsh League
Welsh Football League
The Welsh Football League is a club football league in Wales. Division One of the Welsh Football League is at Level 2 of the Welsh football league system, immediately below the national Welsh Premier League.The Welsh Football League's history stretches back to 1904 when the competition was first...
titles. Seed's good form attracted the attention of Tottenham Hotspur manager Peter McWilliam
Peter McWilliam
Peter McWilliam was a Scottish footballer who played at left-half for Inverness Thistle, Newcastle United and Scotland. He went on to manage both Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough....
and in January 1920 he signed for the north London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
side for a fee of £250, a move which caused some antagonism amongst supporters in Tonypandy.
Tottenham Hotspur
After initially playing five games in the reserves Seed got his first team chance with Spurs, making his debut at inside right and forming an immediate understanding with the legendary, diminutive right winger Fanny WaldenFanny Walden
Frederick Ingram "Fanny" Walden was an English professional footballer who played on the right-wing for Northampton Town, Tottenham Hotspur and at international level for England during the 1910s and 1920s...
. Seed played five games in the remainder of the 1919-20 season, scoring two goals as Spurs ran away with the Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
title. Seed was a virtual ever present for Spurs in the following seven seasons in Division One
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....
. The 1920-21 season saw Tottenham lift the FA Cup
FA Cup
The 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...
with Seed playing in all six matches in the cup run, scoring five goals including a hat trick against Bradford City in the second round. Just two months after getting his cup winners medal Seed was called up for the first of this five England caps on 21 May 1921 against Belgium, he never got a long run in the international side, playing his final game in April 1925.
1921-22 saw Tottenham finish runners up to Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
in Division One with Seed scoring 10 goals in 36 appearances. In February 1927 Peter McWilliam resigned as Spurs manager, being replaced by Billy Minter
Billy Minter
Born William James Minter , 'Billy' Minter was a player, trainer, manager and assistant secretary at Tottenham Hotspur F.C.He began his playing career at Woolwich Arsenal in 1905...
. Minter obviously thought the 32 year old Seed was reaching the end of his career with a young Taffy O'Callaghan
Taffy O'Callaghan
Eugene "Taffy" O’Callaghan was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a forward for Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Wales during the 1920s and 1930s.-Club career:...
ready to take his place, he promptly cut Seed’s wages from £8 to £7 a week. Seeds reaction to this was to ask to be released by the club at the end of the 1926-27 season and after looking like taking the player-managers job at Aldershot
Aldershot F.C.
Aldershot Football Club was an English Football League club, which was wound up in the High Court in March 1992. They became the first Football League club since Accrington Stanley to resign from the League during the course of a season. The club was nicknamed the Shots for both the last syllable...
he eventually signed for Sheffield Wednesday in a part exchange deal involving Darkie Lowdell and a cash adjustment paid by Spurs.
Sheffield Wednesday
Seed made his Wednesday debut on 27 August 1927 in the first match of the 1927-28 season against EvertonEverton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
. During the first part of the season Seed was asked to play in numerous different positions by manager Bob Brown
Robert Brown (football manager)
Robert Brown was an English association football player and manager in the early twentieth century.After an undistinguished career in semi-professional football in his native north-east England, Brown joined Sheffield Wednesday as a scout. In 1911 he joined Portsmouth as secretary, a job he held...
as Wednesday struggled in Division One. By mid March 1928 they had won only six matches out of 32 and were seven points adrift at the foot of the table. At that stage Seed was made team captain with existing skipper Fred Keen being dropped, Ellis Rimmer
Ellis Rimmer
Ellis Rimmer was a former professional footballer who played for Tranmere Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich Town. He was a left winger who was quite tall and scored his fair share of headed goals...
was bought from Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers F.C.
Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...
and these changes triggered an amazing recovery. Wednesday picked up 17 points out of a possible 20 in the last ten matches and avoided relegation by a point. The irony was that it was Seed’s old club Tottenham who were relegated on the final day of the season.
By his own admission Seed did not play his best football of his career at Wednesday but his experience and know-how as captain was the catalyst that drove a young and talented Wednesday side to two successive Division One championships in the following two seasons. Seed played four seasons at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
but by the 1930-31 season, aged 35, he was badly hampered by a knee injury and was often limping before the end of the games, he often played even though he was not fully fit because of his talismanic influence on the team. After damaging the ligaments in his right knee in a match against 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...
at Christmas 1931 he realised his playing days were over and he retired in April of that year to start his managerial career.
Clapton Orient
Seed began his managerial career at Clapton Orient. He was tempted into the job by ArsenalArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
manager Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th century English football, before his sudden death in 1934.As a player, Chapman played for...
who told Seed that Arsenal had plans to buy Orient and turn them into a nursery club for Arsenal. Seed commenced the job at £12 a week but within a short time Arsenal were forced to abandon their plans after being told by the Football League that they were unlawful. Without the financial backing of Arsenal, Orient had very little money and the team struggled. In Seed’s first season as manager the team finished 16th and then in the following 1932-33 campaign they avoided having to seek re-election on goal difference. In September 1933 he accepted the offer of the manager's job at Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C.
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...
despite Sheffield Wednesday trying to tempt Seed back to Hillsborough as a replacement for the manager Bob Brown.
Charlton Athletic
Between 1934 and 1936 he led Charlton to successive promotions from the Third DivisionFootball League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
to the 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....
. In Charlton's first season in the top-flight, they finished runners-up behind 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...
in 1937. They finished third and fourth in the final two seasons before the outbreak of the Second World War.
He led the team into a variety of regional competitions set up during the war and Charlton reached a Wembley final for the first time in 1943. They were beaten 7–1 by Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in the War Cup
Football League War Cup
The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945 which aimed to fill the gaping hole left in English Football by the cancellation of the FA Cup.- Background:...
. They were more successful in 1944, when captain Don Welsh
Don Welsh
Donald "Don" Welsh was an English football player and manager. As a player he played at inside left for Charlton Athletic and for England, winning the FA Cup with Charlton in 1946–47.-Playing career:...
lifted the trophy following a 3–1 triumph over Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
.
They contested the first two post-war FA Cup Finals
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
at Wembley, which were noted for the ball bursting on both occasions. They were well beaten 4–1
1946 FA Cup Final
The 1946 FA Cup Final, the first since the start of the Second World War, was contested by Derby County and Charlton Athletic at Wembley. Derby won 4–1 after extra time, with goals from Bert Turner , Peter Doherty and a double from Jackie Stamps.-Match summary:The game was goalless until the...
by Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
in 1946, but a Chris Duffy goal beat Burnley
Burnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
1–0
1947 FA Cup Final
The 1947 FA Cup Final was contested by Charlton Athletic and Burnley at Wembley, England on April 26, 1947. Charlton, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal, scored in extra time by Chris Duffy....
in 1947.
Despite the revenues generated by very large home attendances, Charlton wouldn't allow Seed to invest in new players (he 'discovered' Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
but wasn't allowed to sign him) and so The Addicks were unable to repeat their pre-war success in the First Division, finishing no higher than ninth in the initial six seasons after the conflict. They narrowly missed relegation in 1949–50 with a 20th position finish, but they finished fifth in 1952–53. Following two bottom-half-of-the-table finishes, Seed endured a dreadful start to the 1956–57 season, losing their first five matches, before being asked for his resignation in September 1956.
Latter career
He later became an advisor at Bristol CityBristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
in January 1957, he took over as caretaker manager in January 1958 for a short while after Pat Beasley
Pat Beasley
Albert "Pat" Beasley was a professional footballer and manager.-Football career:Born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, Beasley began his career as a winger playing for local sides in Kidderminster, before joining Stourbridge. In 1931, while still only seventeen he was signed for £550 by Arsenal...
had left the club. When new Bristol boss Peter Doherty
Peter Doherty (footballer)
Peter Dermot Doherty was a Northern Ireland international footballer and manager who played for Manchester City.An inside left, he was one of the top players of his time, winning a league title with Manchester City, an F.A. Cup final with Derby County in which he scored, and gained 16 caps for...
took over, Seed moved to manage Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
in the early months of 1958. He got off to a terrible start at The Den
The Den (stadium)
The Den was the fifth football stadium occupied by Millwall F.C. in Cold Blow Lane, New Cross, London since their formation in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs in 1885 before moving to The New Den, in May 1993. The ground opened in 1910 and was the home of Millwall for 83 years. It boasted a record...
going nine matches without a win. The team eventually finished 23rd in Division Three South having to apply for re-election. The following season saw Millwall playing in the new Football League Fourth Division
Football League Fourth Division
The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
eventually finishing 9th. Seed stepped down as Millwall manager at the end of the 1958-59 campaign but stayed with the club as advisor and then as a club director. He continued as a director of Millwall until his death on 16 July 1966, aged 71.