George Martin was a Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 footballer and manager who won a First Division Championship medal with Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 in 1928.

Playing career

Born in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Martin started his career with Hamilton Academicals

Hamilton Academical F.C.

Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Academical, or Accies, are a Scottish football club from Hamilton in South Lanarkshire. They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilton Academy. They remain the only professional club in British football to have...

 before moving south to join Hull City

Hull City A.F.C.

Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

. He was signed by Everton in the latter stages of the 1927/28 season and made ten appearances in their ultimately successful title run in to earn his only major honour in the game, the League Championship. Martin's time at Goodison Park

Goodison Park

Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

 was mixed however as he spent the majority of his time as a fringe player during the club's relegation in 1930 and promotion again in 1931 before finally making just two appearances in Everton's 1932 title winning side, which was not sufficient to earn a medal. Martin left Everton for Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

 and then finished his playing career at Luton Town

Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

 before moving into management.

Management

Martin became a coach at Luton Town in August 1939, and was appointed manager on 4 December 1944. After guiding Luton through their first post-war season, he was appointed as Newcastle United's

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 first manager since the end of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in May 1947. One of his decisions at the club was surprisingly to sell prolific goalscorer and fans' favourite Len Shackleton

Len Shackleton

Leonard Francis Shackleton, was an English footballer of the post-World War II period. Known as the Clown Prince of Football, he is generally regarded as one of English football's finest ever entertainers....

 to Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 for £13,000. This concerned some supporters and Martin was at first criticised for making this move. However the protests were short-lived as Newcastle gained promotion without Shackleton and other popular players were introduced. These included the club's current second highest all-time goal-scorer, Jackie Milburn

Jackie Milburn

John Edward Thompson 'Jackie' Milburn, , also known to fans as Wor Jackie and 'the first World Wor' in reference to his global fame, was a football player for Newcastle United and England...

.

He resigned from Newcastle in 1950 after establishing them as a top six side in the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 and took over at struggling Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

. He later returned to Luton for a short-lived spell in 1965; he left a year later.