Colin Campbell McKechnie Veitch (22 May 1881 – 26 August 1938) was an English football player in the early 20th century for Newcastle United and manager of

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

Playing career

Newcastle United

Veitch was born in the Heaton area of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. At school he was both a gifted scholar and footballer, becoming the first captain of Newcastle Schools in 1895. After enrolling at the city's Rutherford College, Veitch appeared for the College team, regarded at the time as one of the finest amateur teams in North East England, where he attracted the attention of Newcastle United for which he at first signed as an amateur before turning professional in the summer of 1899. Veitch made his debut in October 1899, a match which Newcastle United lost 1–0 to

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. For a short spell, Veitch considered giving up his football career to pursue a career in academia, but after a spell in the reserves, playing under the pseudonym of 'Hamilton' he changed his mind. Renowned for his versatility, Veitch captained the successful United side which won League Championships in 1905, 1907 and 1909, the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

and were

finalists in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

and

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

, and also represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on six occasions. Off the pitch, he was an active member of

the players' union The Association Football Players' and Trainers' Union (AFPTU), commonly known as the Players' Union, in the United Kingdom was the original association that became the Professional Footballers' Association. Their stated aims were freedom of movem ...

. Despite a dispute with Newcastle United in 1911, Veitch continued to play for the club until the outbreak of World War I, during which he served as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

. After the war, he returned to

St James' Park St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Pa ...

to become a coach, and in 1924 formed the junior side, Newcastle Swifts, the pioneers of the current Newcastle United juniors system. Veitch was sacked in 1926, ending a 26-year association with United.

Bradford City

In August 1926, Veitch was appointed manager of

. In his first season the club was relegated to

Division Three (North) The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

. The following season City recorded their then record victory, 9–1 over

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and were mounting a promotion challenge. But in January 1927 Veitch resigned, deciding that football management was not for him.

Personal life

Away from football, Veitch was a great lover of the arts and co-founded the People's Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1911.Christopher Goulding, "The Story of the People's" (Newcastle City Libraries, 1991) He was also an accomplished playwright, composer, conductor and producer, and counted

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

amongst his circle of friends. Veitch served in France during the First World War as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery. Veitch was also very politically aware and was approached to stand as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the Labour Party. Although he turned the proposal down, he did become a union activist for the

Professional Footballers' Association The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) is the trade union for professional association footballers in England and Wales. Founded in 1907, it is the world's oldest professional sport trade union, and has over 5,000 members. The aims of ...

and was the PFA's chairman for a number of years. After resigning from Bradford City he returned to

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

and became a journalist with the Evening Chronicle. In 1929 he was banned from the

press box. In 1938, Veitch contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and died aged 57 in Bern, Switzerland whilst on a recuperation holiday.

Honours

As a player

Newcastle United * Football League First Division:

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, 1908–09 *

winner:

finalist:

, 1912

References

External links

*
www.colinveitch.co.uk
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Veitch, Colin 1881 births 1938 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery officers Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football utility players Newcastle United F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players English football managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers English Football League managers Men's association football defenders FA Cup final players Deaths from pneumonia in Switzerland