Alfred "Alf" McMichael was a footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 who played as a left-back

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

.

Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

-born "Alf" McMichael began his career at Linfield

Linfield F.C.

Linfield F.C. , is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club, whose home ground is Windsor Park in Belfast, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland international team....

, before signing for Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 in 1949. He remained at Newcastle until 1962, appearing 431 times and scoring once for the club. He was part of the team that won the 1952 FA Cup

FA Cup Final 1952

The 1952 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1951-52 staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup , English football's main cup competition. The match was contested by Newcastle United and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday 3 May 1952...

, after his disappointment of missing the final the year before through injury. At one point he was considered the best left-back in Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and was a popular player amongst Newcastle supporters.

He represented Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland national football team

The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...

 40 times.

As a player

Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

• FA Cup
  FA Cup
  The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
  
  winner: 1952
  FA Cup Final 1952
  The 1952 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 1951-52 staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup , English football's main cup competition. The match was contested by Newcastle United and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday 3 May 1952...
  
  

External links

• Obituary from PFA
• Alf McMichael, Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database