Alex C. Massie was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 international footballer of the 1920s and 1930s, who played mainly as a right-half

Wing half

In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...

. He was born in Possilpark

Possilpark

Possilpark is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, situated north of the River Clyde. Following the closure of the Saracen Foundry in 1967, this section of Glasgow has become one of the poorest in the United Kingdom, with an above average crime rate....

, Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

.

Player

Massie began his career with Shawfield Juniors, and later played for Petershill

Petershill F.C.

Petershill Football Club are a Scottish football club from Springburn in the north of Glasgow. Nicknamed the Peasy, they were formed in 1897 and are traditionally one of the stronger clubs at their level, although they have not been as successful in recent years as they have historically.The play...

, Benburb

Benburb F.C.

Benburb Football Club are a Scottish football club, based in Govan, Glasgow. Formed in 1900 they are members of the Scottish Junior Football Association and currently compete in the SJFA Central Division One....

, Ashfield

Ashfield F.C.

Ashfield Football Club are a Scottish football club from Possilpark in the North of Glasgow. Formed in 1886, they are based at Saracen Park, which they share with the Glasgow Tigers speedway team...

, Partick Thistle

Partick Thistle F.C.

Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908...

, and Ayr United

Ayr United F.C.

Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...

 before joining Football League side Bury

Bury F.C.

Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...

 in 1926/27.

In 1928 he left Gigg Lane

Gigg Lane

Gigg Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it was built for Bury F.C. in 1885, and has been their home ever since.-History:...

 to play in the United States for Bethlehem Steel

Bethlehem Steel F.C.

Bethlehem Steel Football Club was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs. Known as the Bethlehem Football Club from 1911 until 1915 when it became the Bethlehem Steel Football Club, the team was sponsored by the Bethlehem Steel corporation and played their home games first at East...

, and in 1930 he joined Irish side Dolphin

Dolphin F.C. (Dublin)

Dolphin F.C. is a former Irish football club, originally based in the Dublin suburb of Dolphin's Barn. They played in the League of Ireland between 1930 and 1937. In 1935 they were league champions...

. Later that year he returned to his native Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 to join Heart of Midlothian

Heart of Midlothian F.C.

Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...

. His performances at wing-half, and occasionally at inside-forward soon won him international recognition, with his first full Scotland

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 international cap coming on 19 September 1931 against Ireland. Massie went on to be capped 18 times for Scotland, with his final game coming on 30 October 1937 against Wales

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

, which was also the occasion of his only international goal. He also represented the Scottish League XI

Scottish League XI

The Scottish League XI is a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture between the English and Scottish leagues was only second in...

.

Massie moved to Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 in December 1935, but was unable to prevent their first ever relegation at the end of the 1935–36 season.

Aston Villa

He retired from playing at end of the 1944-45 wartime season, and was appointed manager of Aston Villa in August 1945 and lead them to top ten finishes in his first three seasons, despite not having complete control of the playing side of things at Villa Park, and twelfth place the following year. However, in August 1950 he left Villa.

Torquay United and Hereford United

In 1950 he was appointed as manager of Torquay United

Torquay United F.C.

Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...

 as successor to Bob John

Bob John

Robert Frederick "Bob" John was a Welsh football player and coach.Born in Barry, John played for Barry Town and Caerphilly, before joining English club Arsenal, who signed him amongst stiff competition, in January 1922 for a fee of £750...

, although he only remained as manager until 1951.

He returned to management with Hereford United

Hereford United F.C.

Hereford United Football Club is an English professional football club based in the city of Hereford. Founded in 1924, they are competing in Football League Two in the 2011–12 season. Hereford have played at Edgar Street for their entire history and are nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites',...

the following January, where he remained as manager until December 1952.