Alex Higgins (1905/06 to 1914/15)

Alex “Sandy” Higgins was a cool, self-confident and resolute forward with plenty of "go". He played with equally good results in either of the inside positions and could do a job as the centre too.

Swift and thrustful, he had a rapid and well deserved rise to fame and was as full of football as an egg's full of meat. An adroit and neat dribbler whose passing was exceptionally well-timed and accurate.

Son of the famous Nottingham Forest centre and a native of Kilmarnock, he was first developed with the Hibernians, then assisted the Newcastle Reserves.

At the start of his career on Tyneside Higgins main powers were as a neat and tricky dribbler, but he was very inconsistent as a marksman and his play sometimes lacked an end product.

However, after his first few seasons, he improved markedly as a goal-getter. He not only snapped up opportunities, but created many for his colleagues too. Although it was once said, perhaps unfairly, that his greatest fault was his tendency to selfishness.

He was capped against Ireland and England in both 1910 and 1911 and scored against England in his final match for his country.

He was a war guest for Hartlepools and Hull and returned home in 1919. Sandy was the recipient of several interesting souvenirs of his residence on Tyneside.