New book explores how
Newcastle became United

All With Smiling Faces takes a wander through the early history of Newcastle United to discover how the club came to mean so much to so many. The book is out now, and fans can get it in paperback or eBook formats.

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1881

club formed

1892

move to st james'

1905

first league title

1910

fa cup winners

1881 and all that
Newcastle United began life back in 1881 as Stanley FC, on a pitch near the River Tyne in South Byker. All With Smiling Faces takes readers back to the bustling Victorian industrial city to meet the young lads who formed the club, and visits the location of the pitch where thousands of black and white dreams began.Play up East End!
As the club grew, it changed its name to East End and moved to a new home in Heaton. Here the club signed its first great players, won its first trophies, and battled cross-town rivals West End. It also built up a fanbase, and the book looks at what it must have been like to have supported the club in these earliest of years.

Andy Aitken
The first Newcastle captain to lift a major trophy, 'The Daddler' led his team to the League Championship. A goalscoring Scottish half-back, Aitken was influential in developing his team’s tactics. He owned a popular pub on Newcastle's Grainger Street called the Douglas Hotel.

Alec White
Newcastle United’s first great player, White starred for the club during its East End days. An influential captain and goalscorer, he helped his team win its first trophies. Born in Scotland but raised in Newcastle, White once scored nine goals in a single game for East End.

William Coulson
An 18-year-old assistant teacher from Raby Street in Byker, Coulson was co-founder and captain of Stanley FC, the club that became Newcastle United. As the man who started it all, it seems fair to think that his name should be better known among football fans of a black and white persuasion today.

Bob McColl
Known as 'the prince of centre-forwards', McColl joined Newcastle from Queen’s Park in 1901. He brought not only goals but also the highly-effective Scottish passing game, which he taught to his new teammates. He also founded the RS McColl chain of newsagents.

Frank Watt
Watt joined Newcastle United in 1895 as club secretary (and effectively manager). Working from a house in St James' Street, he quickly transformed the club from a struggling Second Division side into the best team in Edwardian England. He remained secretary until his death in 1932.

Colin Veitch
Arguably the greatest-ever Newcastle player, Heaton-born Veitch was hugely influential on and off the pitch. He won the League three times and was the first Newcastle captain to lift the FA Cup. Born in 1881, the same year as his football club, he also had keen interests in theatre, music and politics.

Newcastle becomes United
In 1892, East End’s rivals West End folded and gave up the lease to their ground – a ‘greasy, muddy slope’ called St James’ Park. East End moved to St James’ and, in an effort to appease fans from across the city, changed its name to Newcastle United. The book also explains why the club changed from red shirts to black and white, and how they became ‘the Magpies’.Building a great club
After joining the Football League in 1893, the newly-named Newcastle United gradually became bigger and stronger, driven by clever management and brilliant players, and soon had a famously loyal band of supporters. All With Smiling Faces discovers how Newcastle built its huge following and became the most successful and best-supported team in the country.

The Old Cup
NEWCASTLE WIN AT LAST. So said newspaper headlines after United finally lifted the FA Cup in 1910. This was the glorious peak for a brilliant team, at a time when the cup was much more important than the league. The book culminates with a famous victory, a triumphant homecoming, and a search for that famous old cup.All With Smiling Faces
The book’s title is of course taken from Blaydon Races, written by music hall singer Geordie Ridley in 1862. The original lyrics were: O lads, ye should only seen us gannin’, We pass’d the foaks upon the road, just as they wor stannin’, Thor wes lots o’ lads an’ lasses there, all wi’ smiling faces, Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

All With Smiling Faces
How Newcastle Became United, 1881-1910
by Paul Brown
Goal-Post books, ISBN 9780956227089
Paperback, 240 pages, 50+ illustrations, RRP £10
Also available as an eBookAll With Smiling Faces takes a wander through the early history of Newcastle United to discover how the club came to mean so much to so many. The book covers the club’s first 30 years, from foundation in 1881 to FA Cup triumph in 1910, and explores how Newcastle became successful and built up its loyal support. The title is taken from the lyrics of Blaydon Races, the Tyneside music hall song that shares its Victorian heritage with Newcastle United and is still sung at St James’ Park today.

Hardback

SOLD OUT

Larger format hardback
Limited edition of 500
Contains 50+ photos
SOLD OUT

Paperback

£10

240-page paperback
Soft-touch matt cover
Contains 50+ photos
Buy now via Amazon:

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eBook

£5

Kindle edition from Amazon
Buy now via Amazon:

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The Forgotten Grounds of Newcastle United – The Chronicle
How the fledgling Magpies played at four long-forgotten grounds in the East End of NewcastleNew book by Paul Brown looks at Newcastle United’s golden past – The Journal
Newcastle fan was looking for something to smile about – and ended up writing a bookWhy Newcastle United fans are among the most passionate in football – The Chronicle
New book explores the Victorian and Edwardian roots of Newcastle’s huge and fervent fan baseAll With Smiling Faces book review – When Saturday Comes
How Newcastle United started out under the names Stanley FC and Newcastle East End

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Copyright © 2014 Paul Brown
Published by Goal-Post, an imprint of Superelastic. Cover painting by Paine Proffitt.
For book order enquiries and for any other queries please contact us.

Stuff by Paul Brown