Joseph Harvey (11 June 1918 – 24 February 1989) was an English football player and manager. He spent much of his career at Newcastle United; he was the club's longest serving captain, manager, and, as of 2022, the last to win a major trophy.
Playing career
Harvey began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers in November 1936. At Wolves Harvey made no appearances and moved onto Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, were Harvey went on to make 37 appearances in the 1937–38 season. Harvey was then released by Bournemouth and he signed for Bradford City in 1938.
At the outbreak of World War 2 Harvey joined the Royal Artillery going on to become a sergeant-major in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps. During the war period he made guest appearances for Aberdeen and Dundee United. In the 1943–44 season Harvey made 28 appearances for Bradford City and then 25 appearances in the following season. His form in his last season at Bradford impressed Newcastle United and on 20 October 1945 Newcastle United paid Bradford £4500 for his services.
Newcastle United
He quickly established himself in Newcastle's youthful side and after an impressive debut against Barnsley was made captain of the side. Before playing for Newcastle Harvey was an established inside forward, at Newcastle he began to settle in the half-back position. At the end of his first season with the club he was demobbed. Partly thanks to his time as a sergeant, he was an authoritative figure amongst the Newcastle players who had the utmost respect for him. However, his time at the club was not without controversy. In the 1946–47 he was memorably suspended by the club's directors, along with teammate Len Shackleton, after going on strike against the quality of accommodation the club had provided the team. Both players were forced to make a public apology for their actions. Harvey was also believed to have been involved in the illegal selling of tickets for the 1952 FA Cup Final, although he was never charged for this.
Despite the controversy he was still a popular player amongst the supporters because of his attitude and displays on the pitch. In the 1947–48 he was a big part of the team that gained promotion to the First Division, only missing five games throughout the whole campaign. He captained the team to two successive FA Cup victories in 1951 and 1952. He retired from playing on 1 May 1953 at the age of 34, despite still being a first-team regular. His final game was a 1–0 win over Aston Villa. However his involvement in football and Newcastle was far from over as he worked towards becoming a coach. He began attending coaching sessions set up by Walter Winterbottom soon after retiring from playing. These sessions helped him to continue working at Newcastle as a trainer for two years. During this time he watched from the sidelines as the club won the FA Cup for the third time in a five-year period. In 1954 he took charge of Northern League club Crook Town who had reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup and took intensive training sessions in readiness for their final against local rivals Bishop Auckland, at the time considered the top amateur side in the country. After a 2–2 draw at Wembley before 100,000 fans and another 2–2 draw at St. James' Park, Newcastle before 52,000 Crook finally emerged triumphant 1–0 at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough, in front of a crowd of 39,000. The club felt that Harvey's coaching sessions had made the difference.
Management career
Wanting to find his way into top-level management, Harvey took control of struggling Barrow. Keeping the club in the league proved near impossible; the squad consisted of just five players upon his appointment. Consequently, Harvey had to apply for re-election by goal average only in 1955–56. He soon left Barrow and was appointed manager of Workington in 1956, where he initially struggled too, but Harvey's influence gradually saw the Workington nearing promotion. He applied for the vacant manager's job at his beloved Newcastle United in 1958, but lost out to Charlie Mitten. The position became available again in 1962 and this time Harvey was successful in his application.
Newcastle United
Harvey originally joined the coaching staff after he retired from playing. He was still a backroom staff member when the Magpies won the FA Cup again in 1954–55.
Harvey was appointed manager of Newcastle United in 1961.
In 1968–69 he won the Fairs Cup with Newcastle.