Signing Info:
Transferred from: Lincoln City, 11/1896, £40
Previous Clubs:
Glasgow Thistle, Blackburn Rovers, Lincoln City
Debut:
28/11/1896 v Birmingham City (A) 0-1 (League Division Two)
Farewell:
Transferred to ?, 03/1901, £
Passed Away:
28/08/1947
Biography
It was a surprise Matthew Gillespie lasted at Newton Heath for four years. As an inside-forward, he did not bother the scorekeepers much, and his shooting was once likened to that of a schoolboy. Also, he was involved in a drinking incident that saw two other culprits evicted from the club. Yet Matthew kept his place in the lineup, the directors obviously taken by his hard work and heading proficiency.
Having learnt his trade with Scottish club Glasgow Thistle, he bagged a move to England with Blackburn Rovers, for whom he played six league games in 1892-93. They offloaded him to Accrington, who in turn sent him to Strathclyde FC. Leith Athletic brought him to the Scottish League for the 1894-95 campaign in which he struck four times in 14 appearances.
Lincoln City was Gillespie's next stop. He arrived in 1895-96, made his debut versus Woolwich Arsenal, and established himself as the club's star man, once scoring a hat-trick past Newcastle. He was made captain and was put on summer wages of £1 but his form dipped at the start of 1896-97.
As such, Lincoln were both surprised and relieved that Newton Heath paid £40 for him that November. He misleadingly bagged a hat-trick shortly after arriving, in a friendly against Fairfield, and proceeded to lumber away in 32 consecutive competitive games, in which he found the net... four times!
Matthew amassed over a century of matches for the Heathens overall and, to his credit, he did enjoy the odd experience: winning a Lancashire Senior Cup medal in March 1898; netting a hat-trick past Burton Swifts in January 1900. His brother, Billy, was on Manchester City's books, incidentally, and the siblings thrice faced off in Mancunian derbies during that time.
Matthew last wore Heath's colours in April 1900 but he remained registered with the club (and was allowed to assist Berry's in the Lancashire Combination during 1900-01) until January 1902 when he joined Barrow. They were in the Lancashire League at the time when Gillespie made his debut versus Workington and - misleadingly - scored once. His son, Bob, played for Oldham Athletic and Port Vale in the 1920s. Biography kindly provided by Charbel Boujaoude.
