Alexander Rainnie (22 June 1891 – 1965) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

and

Ashington Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the ...

. He also played

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

for Hebburn Argyle and

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

Football career

Rainnie played football as a

for

North Eastern League The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England. The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although ...

clubs Hebburn Argyle before the First World War and for

after it. Described as a "resourceful right half", he signed for

club

ahead of the 1919–20 season, but played mainly for their reserve team in the North Eastern League. He appeared only once for the first team, in a 4–0 defeat at Everton on 24 January 1920 in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, and moved back to the North Eastern League with

for 1920–21. He helped Darlington win the North Eastern League title, which contributed to their election to the newly formed Northern Section of the Football League Third Division. He made eight appearances in the League, without scoring, and played for them until at least 1922. He made one appearance for

in the

1923–24 Football League The 1923– 24 season was the 32nd season of The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league ...

season.

Personal life

Rainnie was born in Seafield,

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

, in Scotland, the son of William Thompson Rainnie, a

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces i ...

, and his wife, Isabella née Legg. He was raised in England, in

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, where he attended Hebburn Quay School., reproduced at He was apprenticed as a shipwright, and served in that trade in the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

during the First World War; in 1915 he was serving on . Rainnie married Isabella Prentice in

in 1924. The couple are listed on the

1939 Register The National Registration Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 91) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. The initial National Registration Bill was introduced to Parliament as an emergency measure at the start of the Second World War. The ac ...

as living in Hebburn; Rainnie was working as a safety inspector and serving as an

ARP Warden Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s a ...

. He died in County Durham in 1965 at the age of 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainnie, Alex 1891 births 1965 deaths People from Banffshire Footballers from Hebburn Scottish men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Hebburn Argyle F.C. players Gateshead A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Ashington A.F.C. players English Football League players Date of death missing Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Civil Defence Service personnel 20th-century Scottish sportsmen