Newcastle United have won four league titles in their entire 140-year-history. The first was in 1905, the last 1927, and at the heart of the club during that period was a cigar smoking Scotsman with a handlebar mustache.
" Frank Watt wasn’t a Geordie," explains Newcastle's official club historian Paul Joannou, speaking on Episode 3 of ' Chonicled ' our new podcast series that walks fans through the history of the club. "He was born and raised in Edinburgh and he was very much a pioneer footballer, a trail blazer in the east of Scotland."
A player in the 1870s, when organised association football first began, Watt was the very first secretary of the Edinburgh Football Association and did much to develop the game in the east of Scotland.
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" He became a hugely respected administrator in Scotland," says Paul, "he was a referee, he was also, for two or three years, on the selection committee of the Scottish national side."
By the late 19th century, football was thriving south of the border and the newly renamed Newcastle United had entered the Football League and had ambitions of gaining promotion to Division One. Watt was invited to become the club's secretary in 1895. It is arguably one of the best decisions ever made by Newcastle United.
He was the club's first ever paid secretary, earning a salary of £140 a year and upon his arrival immediately declared: 'we're going to become the best team in the country'.
"The club secretary back then was a Chief Executive or Managing Director in modern terms. Watt became one of the most well-known personalities in football over the following decades."
Watt effectively ran the club for the next 37 years during what is quite easily Newcastle's most successful period. They won Division One four times, reached seven FA Cup Finals winning two of them.
" He was very much responsible for much of the management of the club. Involved in everything in the way of administration of the club, but also he was involved in player selection and player purchases"
The majority of Newcastle's star players during this period were made up of talent from Scotland: Jock Peddie, Andy Aitken, Bob McColl, Neil Harris and of course, the legendary Hughie Gallagher. Arguably Watt's greatest signing who arrived from Airdrie in December 1925 and would go on to score 143 goals in 174 games for Newcastle.
Known as 'The Guv'nor' Watt shunned the limelight, and in the first lengthy account of Newcastle United history (published shortly after his death) he was described as having 'materially helped to build up one of the greatest football combinations the game has ever known'.
His death in 1932 came on the eve of an FA Cup quarter final match against Watford. His team went on to win that season's competition. His son Frank Junior, known as Fritz, took over from his father and served the club until 1950. Frank Junior's son was an assistant secretary later in the fifties and sixties bringing the Watt family's association with Newcastle United close to 60 years.
Episodes of Chronicled: The History of NUFC are available to listen for free on all major podcast platforms, or by clicking HERE
