Newcastle United – N3

“The seahorses now face each other as Newcastle is United. The badge itself is based on the cities coat of arms so I used a mixture of the two for the painting.

A Legend was Born

At the end of April 1892, Newcastle West End was on the brink of becoming bankrupt and extinction.They offered their lease of St James’ Park to East End along with taking over what remained of the club’s assets, including their players.

Within a week a deal had been agreed and in May 1892 East End formally agreed to move home to the more advantageous St James’ Park base near the city centre. Tyneside now only had one senior club and they developed rapidly thereafter.

Before the start of the new 1892-93 season, East End’s new set-up attempted to gain entry into the Football League, at a time when the competition had only a single division

At the annual meeting held in Sunderland, the East Enders were refused entry to the First Division after polling a mere one vote. However, the Tynesiders were admitted to a newly formed Second Division as one of the largely unknown and untried beginners.

The club’s officials though, did not relish the thought of Second Division opposition, as few clubs possessed the drawing power for which East End craved. They wanted the likes of Preston North End, Everton, Sunderland and Aston Villa at St James’ Park and with them much increased gates and of course revenue.

They saw Second Division clubs like Bootle and Crewe as being no better than the past season’s Northern League opposition. So East End declined the invitation and waited patiently for the chance to go national for another day

East End’s – and in essence -Newcastle United’s first game at St James Park took place on 3rd September 1892 against Glasgow Celtic, a prestigious friendly won 1-0 by the visitors before a healthy 6,000 crowd. But crowds of that size were rare. Support was poor and in a bid to attract more spectators from Victorian Tyneside it was decided that radical changes had to be implemented.

At a meeting during December in the Bath Lane Hall – a goal kick from St James Park – East End’s directors presided over a large gathering of football enthusiasts. An open discussion on the future of football on Tyneside took place and one of the points agreed was the need to dispose of the old title of Newcastle East End in a bid to attract a wider support from the city as a whole

Several names were suggested, but voting was almost unanimous for Newcastle United. So on Friday 9th December 1892, East End became Newcastle United, although the legal title of the club was not altered for several years to come.

One facet of East End’s existence remained though. The club, for the time being at any rate, still retained their colours of red and white stripes. The famous black’n’whites striped shirt was not to arrive until 1894.

The following summer, in 1893, the Tynesiders attempted to gain entry into the First Division of the Football League once more. However, again the game’s authorities would not accept United’s direct entry into the top division and for a second time, offered United the opportunity of Second Division status.

Newcastle were desperate to get involved in the national game as they, rightly so, were convinced it was the only way to increase revenue in the long term. So this time United accepted. Also to be elected were Liverpool and Arsenal – a momentous day for the game.

Newcastle United became a member of the Football League and were on their way to over a century of action.