John McNamee, who managed Workington Reds at the tail end of their Football League days, has died at the age of 83.
It was Big John’s only managerial appointment after a hugely successful playing career, in which he is best remembered for his time with Celtic and Newcastle United.
Born in Coatbridge, Scotland he made his Celtic debut in 1960 but by the time he left Parkhead three years later, with 27 senior appearances behind him he had earned a fearsome reputation as a no-nonsense defender.
A run-in against Sir Alex Ferguson in his St Johnstone days is even chronicled in the former Manchester United manager’s autobiography.
Indeed John related years later that Sir Alex actually rang him to check facts about the episode which happened in a reserve game before including it in his book.
John was brought up among some tough individuals and he often related that in the Junior League he started with centre-halves were prone to carry six-inch nails concealed in clenched fists ready to give centre-forwards a swift jab at appropriate times.
Now whether John himself took such a concealed weapon into the fray was never disclosed but as his career unfolded the need for such tactics were not required, as his tough no-nonsense approach won him many admirers.
He left Celtic in 1963 for Edinburgh where he signed for Hibernian and in three years there appeared in 77 first team games.
Then came the move to St. James Park where his arrival was a significant factor in Newcastle avoiding relegation. More significantly it was the start of a journey which was to lead to the Magpies only ever European trophy clinched in Budapest via the Fairs Cup.
He became a Cult hero, an icon, with his status confirmed on the Newcastle terraces. To the fans, according to one respected writer. he was “a mixture of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, Desperate Dan and the Incredible Hulk.”
But all good things come to an end and after 117 appearances for The Magpies he was transferred to Blackburn Rovers where he clocked up 56 more appearances, and a best-ever haul of nine goals.
There were brief cameos at Hartlepool and non-League Lancaster City before retiring in 1974.
He took over at Borough Park in the summer of 1975 but was unlucky in his first managerial role that the Reds had been in freefall and hardly looked like pulling out of it.
John’s persona off the field could not have been a bigger contrast to the one that showed up on the field. A gentleman, a non-drinking family man who settled well in the area.
But Reds were showing little sign of breaking out of the downward spiral and in December he was sacked to be replaced by Alan Ashman.
John, however, decided to stay in the area in Cockermouth after his wife Rose died at the age of 41 and he was left to bring up four children – and see them through university.
One of them, Darren, died suddenly in Australia while John had more harrowing events to deal with at home. He was twice flooded out of his home on the Gote and in his work as a postman was involved in a collision with his van.
It left him with neck and back injuries, while worse was to follow with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, CTE and then Parkinson’s which left him confined to a wheelchair in a care home.
Big John won admirers for his warrior-like performances on the football field, and also forged many friendships in West Cumbria through his quieter, gentlemanly disposition off it.
