Alexander Massie (13 March 1906 – 1977) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

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 The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

and the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

. Massie moved to Aston Villa in 1935. After retiring as a player in 1945, Massie became the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of Aston Villa. He later managed

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

and

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

Player

Massie was born in Possilpark, Glasgow, to William Spiers Massie, a weighing clerk, and Violet Shaw Massie. He began his career with Shawfield Juniors, and later played for Petershill,

Benburb Benburb ()) is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies 7.5 miles from Armagh and 8 miles from Dungannon. The River Blackwater runs alongside the village as does the Ulster Canal. History It is best known, in ...

, Ashfield, and

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

before joining Football League side Bury in January 1927. In 1928, he left

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, G ...

to play in the United States for

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

, supporting himself as a bookkeeper, and in 1930 he joined Irish side

Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

. Later that year he returned to his native

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

to join Heart of Midlothian. His performances at wing-half, and occasionally at inside-forward soon won him international recognition, with his first full

international cap coming on 19 September 1931 against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Massie went on to be capped 18 times for Scotland, with his final game coming on 30 October 1937 against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, which was also the occasion of his only international goal. He also played in an unofficial 'King's Silver Jubilee' international in 1935 and represented the

. Massie moved to Aston Villa in December 1935, 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 Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

. However, in August 1950 he left the club. In 1950 he was appointed as manager of

as successor to

Bob John Robert Frederick John (3 February 1899 – 17 July 1982) was a Welsh football player and coach. Born in Barry, John played for Barry Town and Caerphilly, before joining English club Arsenal, who signed him, against stiff competition, in Jan ...

, although he only remained as manager until 1951. He returned to management with

the following January, where he remained as manager until December 1952. He later managed Hertford Town and

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

the later in which he won the South Midlands League Premier Division in 1972–73.History
Welwyn Garden City F.C.

Honours

Aston Villa *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

: 1937–38 Welwyn Garden City *South Midlands League Premier Division: 1972–73

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massie, Alex 1906 births 1977 deaths Footballers from Glasgow Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers English Football League players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Eastern Professional Soccer League (1928–29) players Shawfield F.C. players Ashfield F.C. players Benburb F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Bury F.C. players Bethlehem Steel F.C. (1907–1930) players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. wartime guest players Birmingham City F.C. wartime guest players Notts County F.C. wartime guest players Nottingham Forest F.C. wartime guest players Scottish football managers Aston Villa F.C. managers Torquay United F.C. managers Hereford United F.C. managers Hertford Town F.C. managers Welwyn Garden City F.C. managers Petershill F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Men's association football wing halves Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish Junior Football Association players People from Possilpark Dolphin F.C. (Ireland) players

Player

Manager

Honours

See also

References