A new book details the footballer’s Ashington upbringing, his shyness and the work ethic that set him apart

Of all the footballers who have worn the black and white, that possessive geordie pronoun “Wor” (our) was unique to Jackie Milburn; for he was a man of the people as much as he was a great sportsman. In that respect, his birthplace of Ashington in Northumberland only added to the mythology.

“The biggest pit village in the world,” as it was known, was the north-east in microcosm – a one-horse coal town where miles of identical terraced houses spread out from the pitheads and the menfolk were obsessed by whippets, leeks, association football and pints in the club. Nevertheless, he had a self-discipline that saw the pitfalls of alcohol: “Certainly it prevented my dad, Alec Milburn, from making the big time,” Jackie recalled. “He could have gone to Tottenham but preferred to stay home and drink his ale.”