Alex Massie

Infobox Football biography
playername= Alex Massie
fullname = Alex C. Massie
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date|1906|3|13
cityofbirth = Possilpark
countryofbirth = Scotland
dateofdeath = death date and age|1977|9|20|1906|3|13
cityofdeath = Welwyn Garden City
countryofdeath = England
height =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Wing Half
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years =
1927-1928
1928-1930
1930
1930-1935
1935-1939
clubs = Partick Thistle
Petershill
Glasgow Benburb
Glasgow Ashfield
Ayr United
Bury
Bethlehem Steel
Dolphin
Hearts
Aston Villa
caps(goals) =
032 (12)
141 0(5)
nationalyears = 1932-1938
nationalteam = Scotland
nationalcaps(goals) = 018 0(0)
manageryears = 1945-1950
1950-1951
1951-1952
managerclubs = Aston Villa
Torquay United
Hereford United
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Alex C. Massie (March 13, 1906 - September 20, 1977) was a Scottish international footballer, playing mainly at right-half. He was born in Possilpark, Glasgow.

Player

Massie began his senior career with Partick Thistle, joining Partick from Shawfield Juniors. He moved on to Petershill, Glasgow Benburb, Glasgow Ashfield and Ayr United before joining Bury in January 1927, for a fee of £1,000.

He left Gigg Lane in August 1928, moving to the United States to play for Bethlehem Steel in the American Soccer League (ASL). That season FIFA declared the ASL an "outlaw league". As part of the dispute, the ASL boycotted the U.S. Open Cup. Bethlehem, however, defied the boycott and played in the Cup, leading the ASL to suspend the team after only seven league games. Bethlehem joined two other suspended ASL clubs, plus several other east coast teams to form the rival Eastern Soccer League. Massie stayed with Bethlehem through that tumultuous season, then spent the 1929-30 season in the Atlantic Coast League before returning to Europe with Dublin side Dolphins in 1930. Later that year he returned to his native Scotland to join Heart of Midlothian. His performances at wing-half, and occasionally at inside-forward soon won him international recognition, his first full Scotland international cap coming in 1932, and he became the Scottish captain during the 1934-35 season.

He moved to Aston Villa in December 1935 for a fee of £6,000, but was unable to prevent their first ever relegation at the end of the season. He captained Villa to the Second Division title in 1938, and to the Football League North War Cup in 1944, also guesting for a number of sides, including Solihull Town, Birmingham, Nottingham Forest, Notts County and Portsmouth during the war.

Manager

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 November of the same year he was appointed as manager of Torquay United as successor to Bob John, but his side struggled, eventually finishing in 20th place at the end of the season. He resigned in September 1951, returning to management with Hereford United the following January, where he remained as manager until December 1952. He later coached local sides in Welwyn Garden City, where he died in September 1977 at the age of 71.