Debut:
31/03/1893 v Stoke City (H) 1-0 (League Division One)
Farewell:
1st Farewell Transferred to Glasgow Celtic, 05/1893, £, Final Farewell Transferred to Manchester City, 03/1900, £250
Passed Away:
20/08/1941
Biography
The officials labeled him "the best forward the club ever had", and Joe Cassidy indeed was one of only three strikers (in addition to Jack Doughty and Bob Donaldson) to score well over a century of goals for Newton Heath. Joe, in fact, was the first player in Manchester United's history to score 100 competitive goals, and he remains the club's leading Second Division scorer by far with 90 strikes.
Cassidy was only 17 years old when he made a brief breakthrough with local side Motherwell Athletic in the Spring of 1890. Blyth FC, of the Northern Alliance, quickly took him south of the border, and he stayed with them until March 1893. That was when he came to Manchester, to help the Heathens in the upcoming test matches to avoid relegation from the top flight. This he did, scoring in the playoff game and in the Manchester Senior Cup final to boot, as Heath defeated Bolton 2-1.
Mission accomplished, Joe joined Celtic in May, much to Heath's dismay. They complained that he was still registered with them, landing him a 1-month suspension early in 1893-94. But that was a successful campaign for Cassidy. He won a Championship medal, a Scottish Cup finalist's medal, and scored one of the goals in the Glasgow Cup final victory.
Dressing room disharmony, however, convinced him to leave Parkhead in March 1895 and return to Newton Heath. Interestingly, the transfer was apparently conducted with the help of an agent, "the good offices of J. Allison, Manchester"! Joe's return was a historic event - Newton Heath thrashed Walsall Town Swifts 14-0 with 4 goals from the returning prodigy. Alas, the record-breaking win was voided by the Football League following the losers' complaint.
Regardless, Cassidy proceeded to prove himself the club's star over the next five years. Able to operate at centre-forward, inside and outside-left, he was top scorer in 1896, 1897, 1899 and 1900, which made him unique among Heath's star strikers in that his form never deteriorated with time. He had adhesive ball control, a ferocious shot, and an alertness to link-up play. He earned a Lancashire Senior Cup winners' medal in 1898 and a benefit in 1900, which netted him £174 - a club record for a testimonial. Joe was also involved in the PFA's predecessor, the AFPU, getting elected onto its management committee in August 1899. His main task? Enlisting players from the Manchester and Lincolnshire areas.
Cassidy's last goals for Newton Heath came on March 31st, 1900, when he obtained his sixth hat-trick for Heath. Unfortunately, the club's worsening financial situation forced them to sell him to Manchester City for £250. Joe made his City debut on April 28th, 1900, then finished top scorer in 1900-01. However, the club directors were not happy paying him £4 a week, so they sold him to Middlesbrough that May.
Joe spent five seasons with Middlesbrough, mostly as captain, finishing as leading marksman twice and scoring the first ever goal at Ayresome Park. In 1906, at the age of 34, he moved to Workington - his wife's hometown - and served the club for two years in the Lancashire Combination. After a "grand" start - Workington won 6-0 on his debut on November 3rd - he had to be content with a backup role in 1907-08, finally settling on being the team's coach.
After retirement, Cassidy found employment at Hurst, Nelson & Coy's Works in Flemington. It was sadly reported in April 1916 that he had suffered a mental breakdown but, thankfully, he recovered from that and migrated to America in 1923. He finally passed away in Chicago in 1941.
Thanks to Sean Crowe for extra information on Joe Cassidy. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude.
