Obituary - John McNamee (1941-2024)

Wallace Wilson pays tribute to one of his heroes

The death of John McNamee was announced on 28 November 2024. He was 83.

John McNamee was the first Newcastle United player I ever met face to face. My Dad had taken me to Stan Seymour’s Sports shop (now Seymour’s Corner) to buy some boots and by coincidence Big John was there too, buying a pair of Pumas. I just stared in awe and wonder as he casually bent a pair in two in one hand. He was huge and seemed superhuman to me at the time.

John was born in Coatbridge on 11 June 1941 so it was little surprise he was picked up as a 17 year old by Glasgow Celtic’s youth coach, a chap called Jock Stein. John was serving his time in the Govan shipyards at the time and Matt Busby also tried to sign him for Man U. However, John was the only breadwinner in a family of seven and he felt that he should stay in Glasgow to help his mother bring up the rest of his family.

Stein actually signed John twice, as he also took him with him over to Edinburgh when he took on the role of managing Hibs. For his part, John thought Stein was a genius and bemoaned the fact that, if the manager had stayed at Hibs rather than subsequently moving across to Clydeside, it might have been the team from Easter Road winning the European Cup in 1967 rather than the team from Parkhead.

The fact Stein signed him twice shows John wasn’t just a thug, he could play a bit too - but he wasn’t averse to inflicting pain and physical intimidation if he thought it would help his team to win. It was a much more physical game then (John was a member of the Hibs back line collectively called ‘The Big Bad Johns’) and Sir Alex Ferguson records a run-in with John in his autobiography:

“The most legendary of these three frighteners was McNamee. It was probably unwise to become warlike with him but we had to be dragged apart by team-mates. John threatened to kill me and. heartened by the proximity of so many players and the referee, I told him that I would be around at the end. I thought no more about it until, as I was combing my hair after being in the bath, one of the ground-staff told me there was someone waiting for me. Assuming it was a friend I stuck my head around the door. I nearly fainted when I saw McNamee standing there. Now I wasn’t a coward by any means but this was a monster and a little common sense was in order. So I went back to combing my hair and waited for the sound of the Celtic coach pulling out. The best of three falls with a monster was not a good idea”.

John was bought by Joe Harvey in December 1966 with some of the money the club received from Blackpool for Alan Suddick with a brief to save us from relegation - we were bottom of League Division 1 at the time having been promoted two years earlier. John was much more than a monster as a player. In fact he had a surprisingly deft touch for such a big man and he was the sort of player no-one in their right mind would want to play against. However, Hibs were looking to sell because his approach was making him a marked man with the Scottish authorities and Harvey was looking for someone to insert some steel into his back line. It turned out to be a brilliant deal.

He made his debut for United at White Hart Lane on New Year’s Eve 1966. It was an inauspicious beginning as we were caned 4-0 but with the assistance of the other two players signed with the Suddick money, Dave Elliott from the Mackems in midfield and Tommy Robson from Chelsea up front adding to Wyn Davies, Pop Robson and Peter Noble we eventually climbed to 20th (22 in the division and only two relegated then).

Harvey’s astute signings had saved the day and gradually he built the team, including McNamee that would win the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969.

I had the enormous pleasure and privilege of interviewing John for True Faith back in 2010 and he was a brilliant story teller and a lovely man. I asked him about his ‘hard man’ reputation and John said “I was hard but I was honest. Leeds were a hard team but they were sneaky. I remember another game at Leeds when Allan Clarke was getting on my nerves with niggling little fouls - ankle taps, that sort of thing. Leeds were awarded a penalty and, while everyone was concentrating on the kick I managed to stick one on Clarke and knocked him spark out. I was going to get away with it as well but the ref was going to send Jimmy Scott off so I had to own up to it”.

Asked about a famous goal at the Fulwell End at Roker Park on 30th December 1967 John said:

“We were getting beat 3-2 and I just threw myself at a corner. The ball flew into the net and I just followed it, carried by my momentum. I just grabbed the bar to save myself and ended up swinging at the Fulwell End where our supporters were gathered, going absolutely light”.

A couple of years later Big John played a central role in helping the lads lift their (so far) only European trophy. I asked him about his impressions of the Fairs Cup run:

“I remember the first game when we destroyed Feyenoord 4-0 and Geoff Allen was outstanding down the left wing. Some of the lads were saying that it was job done but I warned that they would be a different prospect at home and so it proved but we toughed it out. I shouldn’t have played in the semi-final at Rangers because I had a dodgy hamstring but I told Joe it was ok because I could play Colin Stein (Rangers’ star centre forward) on one leg. We managed to hang on for an away draw but I’d aggravated my hamstring which meant I was out of the final against Ujzpest. I was a sub in Hungary but I didn’t get on, which was a disappointment. I would have liked to have had a few minutes at the end”.

After chatting about his career I asked about how he had managed after the floods in Cockermouth. Typically he diverted attention away from himself (he had had to leave his house and wouldn’t be able to return for over a year) and focused on the need for local residents to get back home and the difficulties they were facing having to look after children and cook food. John was instrumental in assisting many people in difficulties to access the services and support they needed.

He didn’t have an easy retirement. Footballers didn’t receive the huge wages Premier League players take as their due these days. John had to cope with the tragedy of his wife dying at the age of just 41 which left him with four children to bring up. By this time he was living in Cockermouth (he’d ended up managing Workington Town after his playing career ended) and took a job as a postman to give him more time with his family. Unfortunately he was involved in a car collision which left him with serious neck and back injuries.

Nevertheless, with his support, all four of his children went to university.

As he grew older he struggled with old football injuries and eventually was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) a degenerative disease linked to repeated head traumas. Both conditions have been linked with the repeated heading of footballs, particularly the heavy balls used in the fifties and sixties.

A lot of people are called ‘Heroes’ these days. I’m 70 and if I had to name one player as my hero, it would be John McNamee - not just for his efforts on the field, although he is loved by Mags of a certain vintage and his reputation is secure in that respect, but for what he did for others, unselfishly and putting the needs of others before his own.

Rest in Peace Big John - a working class hero is something to be.

John McNamee - Newcastle United - 1966 - 1971 - 117 Appearances, 8 goals. 

 Wallace H Wilson.