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Martin Burleigh

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Martin Burleigh
Personal information
Full name Martin Stewart Burleigh[1]
Date of birth (1951-02-02)2 February 1951[2]
Place of birth Willington, County Durham, England
Date of death 27 September 2021(2021-09-27) (aged 70)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
196?–1968 Willington
1968–1974 Newcastle United 11 (0)
1974 → Darlington (loan) 9 (0)
1974–1975 Darlington 21 (0)
1975–1977 Carlisle United 26 (0)
1977–1979 Darlington 71 (0)
1979–1982 Hartlepool United 84 (0)
1982–1983 Bishop Auckland
1983–1984 Spennymoor United
1984–1985 Langley Park
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Martin Stewart Burleigh (2 February 1951 – 27 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who made 222 appearances in the Football League playing as a goalkeeper for Newcastle United, Darlington, Carlisle United and Hartlepool United.

Life and career

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Burleigh was born in Willington, County Durham.[2] He played football for his local club, Willington A.F.C., before joining Newcastle United as a 17-year-old on amateur forms in October 1968. He replaced the injured Dave Clarke in a strong Newcastle team for Barrie Thomas's testimonial match in November,[3][4] and turned professional in December.[5] Burleigh was a member of the Newcastle United youth team that won the 1969 Rotterdam International Youth Tournament, defeating Arsenal's youngsters in the final.[6]

He made his first-team debut on 26 December 1970, in a 3–0 defeat away to Leeds United in the First Division,[7] and Leeds' manager, Don Revie, was complimentary: "I thought he had a fine game. He had no chance with the goals. Some of the saves he made showed he has a fine future ahead of him".[8] Burleigh had to wait over a year before making another senior appearance; his home debut came on 8 January 1972 in a 4–2 league victory over Coventry City.[9]

An injury to undisputed first-choice goalkeeper Iam McFaul in February 1973 allowed Burleigh a run of games in the first team,[10][9] which ended when his left index finger was broken by a kick from Mick Channon during a 1–1 draw away to Southampton and he was ruled out for the rest of the season.[11][12] A dispute with manager Joe Harvey stemming from his return to pre-season training seriously overweight caused him to walk out of the club.[13] He returned, but played only twice more, the last of his 15 first-team appearances for Newcastle coming on 11 May 1974 against Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park.[9] When he again reported overweight for the 1974–75 season, the club threatened to cancel his contract, at which point he resigned and considered joining the RAF.[14]

The club retained Burleigh's Football League registration, loaned him to Fourth Division club Darlington in October 1974,[15] and made the transfer permanent in December for a fee reported as £3,000 plus 50% of the profit on any future sale.[16] He spent that season as Darlington's first-choice goalkeeper, and then moved on to Carlisle United, newly relegated to the Second Division, in June 1975.[2] Although a transfer request was accepted in November that same year,[17] Burleigh remained with Carlisle until 1977. He then returned to Darlington for a further two-year spell,[2] in the first of which he was the club's player of the season.[18] He finished his professional career with three seasons at Fourth Division Hartlepool United, for whom he made 96 appearances in all competitions,[19] before moving into non-league football in 1982 with Bishop Auckland,[2] and then playing for Spennymoor United and Langley Park.[20]

After his professional football career ended, Burleigh worked as a painter and decorator based in Ferryhill, County Durham.[10] He died on 27 September 2021 at the age of 70.[21]

In September 2022 [1] a memorial bench was unveiled by The Toon Legends Club at The Manor House, Ferryhill

Honours

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Newcastle United

References

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  1. ^ "Martin Burleigh". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Martin Burleigh". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  3. ^ "NUFC 1968/69 – Diary". Toon Times. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  4. ^ "United give Burleigh his chance". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. 26 November 1968. p. 16.
  5. ^ Gibson, John (6 December 1968). "Burleigh signs full-time". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. p. 26.
  6. ^ Gibson, John (2 March 2018). "How Newcastle United's other big success 50 years ago is not being forgotten". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Burleigh, MS (Martin)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  8. ^ Donoghue, John (28 December 1970). "Revie pays tribute to Burleigh". The Journal. Newcastle. p. 11.
  9. ^ a b c "Player Details: Martin Burleigh". Toon1892. Kenneth H Scott. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  10. ^ a b Struthers, Greg (17 April 2005). "Newcastle United win the Anglo-Italian Cup, 1973: Caught in time". Sunday Times. London. p. Sport 26. Retrieved 28 September 2021 – via Gale OneFile: News.
  11. ^ "Hill to look for sponsors". The Guardian. 17 April 1973. p. 27.
  12. ^ Gorman, Ken (16 April 1973). "Burleigh blasts Channon after injury K.O.". The Journal. Newcastle. p. 18.
  13. ^ Gibson, John (17 November 1973). "United set to slap new fine on Burleigh". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. p. 18.
  14. ^ Gibson, John (26 July 1974). "We were fed up with Burleigh". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. p. 30.
  15. ^ Gibson, John (17 October 1974). "Burleigh goes on loan to Darlington". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. p. 30.
  16. ^ Gibson, John (11 December 1974). "Burleigh is on move". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle. p. 22.
  17. ^ "Millwall sell to survive". The Guardian. 13 November 1975. p. 19.
  18. ^ Amos, Mike (8 February 2005). "West set for big stage". The Northern Echo. Darlington. p. 22 – via Newsbank.
  19. ^ "Player stats: MS Burleigh". PoolStats. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  20. ^ "Archives: Where are they now? – B". NUFC.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  21. ^ Colman, Jon (27 September 2021). "Tributes paid after death of former Carlisle United and Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Burleigh". News and Star. Carlisle. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  22. ^ "Tributes to Martin Burleigh, John Tobin and Dennis Dolphin". Northern Echo. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
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