'Fast and direct, Stan Seymour proved a superb signing'

League football continued right through the Great War, although cup competitions were suspended.

It was during this period that manager Robert Cochran signed some of Morton’s greatest ever players, including future Scottish Cup winners Jock McIntyre, Jackie Wright and Jimmy Gourlay, as well as inside-left Robert Stevenson, recruited just two weeks after Seymour, who become his partner on Morton’s left flank.

Born in County Durham in 1895, Seymour worked down the pits and played for local club Shildon Athletic. An early trial with Newcastle United was unsuccessful, Stan apparently being advised to ‘come back when you’ve grown up’.

He joined Bradford City in 1911, making a solitary appearance for the Yorkshire club before Morton brought him north of the border to Cappielow. He was still a teenager.

Stan made his debut for Morton on February 15, 1913, in a replayed Scottish Cup tie at Brockville Park; the Greenock club lost 3-1 to Falkirk, missing out on a lucrative tie against Rangers. His first season ended with Renfrewshire Cup success after he netted a double in the first leg of the final against St Mirren.

Stan Seymour in action for Morton against St Mirren(Image: Contributed)

Over the next seven seasons, Seymour was a Morton regular, playing 249 times and scoring 90 goals, second only to Gourlay in the club’s scoring charts at that time; indeed today, he is still Morton’s 13th highest all-time scorer.

There was no shortage of star performances, Stan scoring one and making the other as his team overcame Rangers 2-1 to win the Great War Fund Shield in 1914/15.

Morton - and Seymour - appeared in another War Shield Final in 1918, going down 1-0 to Celtic, having beaten Rangers 3-1 in the semi-final. He also won the Renfrewshire Cup tournament four times, never losing a tie.

Stan, right, in action for Morton against Third Lanark(Image: Contributed)

There were four league hat-tricks, against Dundee in 1914, Queen’s Park in 1915, Ayr United in 1918 and Albion Rovers in 1920, the last coming just two days after the Coatbridge club had narrowly lost in the Cup Final to Kilmarnock, Morton’s conquerors at the semi-final stage.

In 1918, in an unofficial international match to raise money for the Sir Douglas Haig Hospitals’ Fund, Seymour represented England at Celtic Park, against a Scotland XI featuring Morton team-mate Jackie Wright.

Morton’s Englishman proved to be a superb signing; he was fast and direct, a great reader of the game, and a consistent goalscorer, reaching double figures in all but one of his seasons in Greenock.

Stan Seymour (front row, second from right) with his Morton team-mates in 1914; the picture also features Jimmy Gourlay and Jackie Wright, who won the Scottish Cup with Morton in 1922.(Image: Vincent Gillen/Greenock Morton 1874-1999)

But all good things must come to an end; in May 1920, his home-town team, Newcastle United, came calling, and he moved south for a fee of £2,500. Stan was at his peak, and he went on to make a massive impact at St James’ Park.

The Magpies had signed a gem; in 1924, Newcastle beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Wembley to lift the FA Cup; the goals came late, Seymour clinching the win with an unstoppable shot - his fifth goal in that season’s competition.

Within three years, the Toon had lifted the First Division title, and Seymour was an ever-present as they finished five points clear of second placed Huddersfield, with arch-rivals Sunderland third. Scot Hughie Gallacher, signed from Airdrie for £5,500, had an outstanding season.

During nine seasons in the North East, Seymour played 266 games for United, netting 84 goals.

The Great War Fund Shield, won by Morton in 1915, with Stan Seymour scoring one and setting up the other in the 2-1 win over Rangers in the final; the trophy is still held at Cappielow to this day.(Image: Contributed)

But, approaching the veteran stage in 1929, he fell out with the club he loved; wages and a promised testimonial were the issues, and he hung up his boots, opened a highly successful sporting goods shop in the city, and never kicked a ball again.

In 1938 he was invited to join the club’s board; directors were distinctly hands-on in those days, and following the Second World War, Stan became manager of the club. In 1951 and 1952, Newcastle won the FA Cup in successive years, the first team ever to do so, beating Blackpool and Arsenal.

Seymour managed the club for a record 14 years; he remained a director and, in later years became chairman, before being appointed Life President of the club, fulfilling the role until his death in 1978.

Seymour moved from Morton to Newcastle in May 1920 and went on to play 266 games for his home town club, later becoming a director and then the Magpies' manager, chairman and life president.(Image: Contributed)

His son, Stanley junior,  who was born in Scotland while his father was playing for Morton, followed in his father's footsteps and became chairman of Newcastle between 1981 and 1988. His other son, Colin, played for the Magpies during the Second World War, but was killed in action over Germany .

Stan was one of the most important and revered figures in Newcastle United’s history. But he never lost his affection for Morton, keeping in touch with old team-mates and developing a lasting friendship with director-manager Hal Stewart.

His home in Newcastle was apparently named ‘Cappielow’.