Keeping the Faith 1946/47 - 1950/51

At only 5' 9 pipe smoking Swinburne was small for a 'keeper. He joined Newcastle from local non-league football (Herrington Colliery) as a teenager and served in the airforce during the war.

He made his debut in the following season in a 4-1 home victory over Blackpool. However he only played one more match and didn't make the first team at all during then following two campaigns.

In the final two seasons before the war he vied with Tapken and Theaker for the keeper's jersey, playing fifty five times in all.

During the War he notched up another fifty one games.

On the resumption of the League he had a new challenger in Garbutt but due to his rivals injury problems the 31 year old managed 26 games including all but the first game of the FA Cup run that took them to the semi-final.

Charlie Crowe (In Crowe Amongst the Magpies) described him as "unpredictable, at times making brilliant saves only to fumble a simple shot minutes later". Charlie also relates how he used to "pride himself on his judgement at free-kicks. Sometimes when the ball was still in flight he would anticipate that it would clear the crossbar, and would go behind to collect the ball from the crowd".

On at least one occasion his bravado almost misfired; in a game against Burnley at Turf Moor in 1946/47 Charlie recalls that the ball struck the bar and rebounded back into play where it had to be scrambled to safety by his defenders.

United lost the match 0-3 and he only got seven more games before being freed at the end of the season whereupon he joined Consett.

Scarborough born Garbutt was only eighteen when he joined United from Billingham for £100. Unfortunately within months of his arrival Hitler had invaded Poland and the Football League came to a halt.

Quite a small 'keeper at 5' 10 1/2" and weighing 10st 2lb.

Garbutt served in the RAF during the war although he did find time to play once for Newcastle in the wartime Northern League. He kept goal for the first match of the 1945/46 season; a 6-0 victory over Sheffield United.

When the League resumed Garbutt (now 26) was regarded as first choice made his official debut in the away match at Millwall (where United won 4-1) on the opening day of the season.

Over the next four seasons he made 53 appearances in total; serious injuries (a broken finger in the promotion season and then a broken leg) restricting his availability and ultimately leading to his premature retirement.

Six foot Theaker played sixty five times during the War but when the official League restarted he was almost thirty four and was regarded as third choice after Garbutt and Swinburne.

He only got one chance; a 3-1 home victory over Coventry in September 1946 before being allowed to leave for Hartlepool at the end of the season.

Fairbrother is one of the all time United greats. He was a magnificent servant for five years - playing almost 150 times - and was one of the mainstays of the promotion side and played in the FA Cup victory of 1951.

As a result of the War "Smiler" Jack did not make his League debut until he was almost thirty. He joined United from First Division Preston at the end of the 1946/47 season for for £6,500. A record fee for a goalkeeper at that time

In many ways he was a goalkeeper ahead of his time, concentrating more on positioning rather than diving. He used a unique "scientific" training method whereby he would tie a rope to the goalpost and give Jackie Milburn the other end. Then when Milburn shot the rope would indicate exactly where Fairbrother should stand.

The astute among you might see the weakness in this approach whereby any swerve on the shot would leave the custodian leaden footed and hopelessly out of position; but these were the days when a ball was a real ball that moved in one direction only.

Mike Hooper - a great student of the game - had read about "Fairbrother's angles" and used the technique himself unfortunately did not forsee how it does not work so well when the ball is a not some plastic thing that moves all over the place in the air.

Milburn summed it up perfectly when he said "Jack was the only keeper I've known who I always felt would save any shot".

Fairbrother was also an extrovert character and he became famous for donning white police mans gloves during matches. He had worked for the police during the war and decided to where them as a joke. At first he had to go to Market Street Police Station to get kitted out but soon scores of serving coppers were sending them though the post.

It is less well known that a certain world famous pop star and human chameleon got one of his image ideas from watching an old United match in which Fairbrother lost one of his gloves in the mud.

He stormed out and Harvey and Mitchell had to give chase. They found "Smiler" Fairbrother in tears at Kings Cross Station.

Jack was still at the club for the next season but only got a couple of games; then in September he broke his collar-bone

At the end of the season he moved on to Peterborough (who were then a non-League club) to become their player manager.

A distinguished name but a rather undistinguished career. After the war he was receiving rave reviews for his performances in non-league football for CA Parsons and United had to fight hard to secure his signature in front of Sunderland, Leeds and Bradford.

Another lightweight 'keeper; he was just under 5' 9" and weighed 10st 2lb.

He was twenty two at the time but did not make his debut until almost three years later when he played at Elland Road against Huddersfield on April 11th 1949. He retained the jersey until the end of the season.

His only other game was the opening day 6-0 victory over Huddersfield (again) in season 1951/52. Later that season he joined Lincoln City for £750.