Fred Westgarth (July 1887 in

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 ...

, England – 4 February 1957) was an English

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 ...

though he is more renowned for his role as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Career

Westgarth was a successful football coach after a playing career achieved little of note. He was South Shields' assistant trainer before he joined Ebbw Vale,

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

and

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

in a training capacity. In 1938 he joined

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

as trainer-manager. In December 1936 he moved to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

not waiting to see his Stockport side win the Division Three (North) title that season. In March 1938 he resigned at Carlisle to move to

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

. He helped Bradford to lift its first honour for ten years, albeit in only the Third Division North Challenge Cup, in 1938-39. The following season,

World War Two World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisi ...

interrupted English football. Westgarth stayed at City until 1943 when he joined Hartlepools United. He had a successful spell at Hartlepools during the mid-1950s. In 1955 the club reached the 4th round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, its best ever performance. In 1956-57 Hartlepools narrowly missed out on winning Division Three (North). But in 1957 he was taken seriously ill and died on 4 February shortly after he saw his side lose 4–3 to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in the FA Cup third round in front of a record 17,264 crowd at Victoria Park.

Honours

* Third Division North Challenge Cup 1938-39 (with Bradford City)

References

External links

1887 births 1957 deaths English football managers Stockport County F.C. managers Carlisle United F.C. managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers Hartlepool United F.C. managers English Football League managers {{England-footy-manager-stub