Vic Keeble

Vic Keeble
Keeble at West Ham United
Personal information
Full name Victor Albert Williams Keeble
Date of birth (1930-06-25)25 June 1930
Place of birth Colchester, England
Date of death 29 January 2018(2018-01-29) (aged 87)[1]
Place of death Essex, England
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Position(s) Centre-forward
Youth career
Arsenal
King George V Boys Club
Colchester Casuals
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1947–1952 Colchester United 115 (82)
1952–1957 Newcastle United 104 (56)
1957–1960 West Ham United 76 (45)
Total 295 (183)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Victor Albert Williams Keeble (25 June 1930 – 29 January 2018) was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward for Colchester United, Newcastle United and West Ham United.

Early life

Victor Albert Williams Keeble was born 25 June 1930 to Victor Keeble (1907-1977) and Minnie Rose Warner. Keeble attended Colchester Royal Grammar School, where his preferred sport was rugby, playing as a stand-off half. He played football with Arsenal as a schoolboy and locally for King George V Boys Club and Colchester Casuals.[3][4]

Career

Colchester United

Keeble was signed as an amateur for hometown club Colchester United by future West Ham United manager Ted Fenton in May 1947, a few weeks short of his 17th birthday.[3] The club paid a £10 signing-on fee for his services.[2][1] He had an instant impact, scoring hat-tricks on his debuts in the Eastern Counties League, against Norwich City A, and in the Southern League against Bedford Town in the first game of the 1947–48 season. His goals at Colchester earned him a place in the Southern League representative side.[5]

He scored 59 goals in 69 Southern League appearances for Colchester United, and went on to score a further 23 goals in 46 Football League appearances after the club were elected to the Third Division South for the first time.[2][5]

Newcastle United

He was signed by Newcastle United for £15,000 in January 1952 after being spotted by Magpies scout and former captain Bill McCracken.[2] He continued to score goals, with three in his five appearances in 1951–52.[6] However, Keeble's move to Newcastle coincided with his National Service with the Army, and long periods away impeded his progress.[7][8]

Keeble's first full season at Newcastle began with a 4–2 loss in the Charity Shield against Manchester United. He scored both goals for the Magpies.[9] The 1952–53 season continued with 6 goals in 17 First Division appearances, and he managed 6 in 11 the following season.[6]

By 1955, with Army duties completed, Keeble was back to his best, scoring 29 goals in 36 appearances during the 1955–56 season.[8][6] One game against Huddersfield Town in November 1955 saw Keeble score four. He was the last surviving member of the team that beat Manchester City in the 1955 FA Cup Final, and has a road named after him in North Seaton, Ashington.[10] The competition had seen Keeble score five goals in preceding rounds,[11] and he wore Jackie Milburn's number 9 shirt in the Final (Milburn wore number 8).[12]

An injury in 1956–57 saw Keeble lose his place in the team to Len White and the following season he played mainly for the reserve team.[10] He left having scored 67 goals in his 120 League and FA Cup games for the club.[13]

West Ham United

Signed again by Fenton, Keeble moved to Upton Park in October 1957 for £10,000, joining a West Ham side that had earned 12 points from their first 12 Second Division games of 1957–58, with inside-forward John Dick yet to score in the League.[1][14] They went on to form a partnership that produced a combined 40 goals. Keeble finished the season with 19 League goals in 29 games, which, along with Dick's 21, contributed to a first-place finish and promotion to the First Division.[8][15]

Keeble had made his debut for the Irons in a friendly fixture, a testimonial for Dick Walker against Sparta Rotterdam. He scored the first goal in a game that saw Dick score a hat-trick. He scored on his League debut, against Doncaster Rovers on 19 October 1957, and scored the first of three hat-tricks for West Ham on 16 November, against Stoke City. His partnership with Dick would yield 20 goals by Christmas Day and see the Hammers placed third in the league table. Consistent goalscoring from both players continued into the second half of the season, culminating in a crucial final game, against Middlesbrough, that saw the pair both cap their title-winning season with goals.[1][16]

The 1958–59 campaign saw Keeble score 21 top-flight goals, including four in a 6–3 win over Blackburn Rovers, even though he had missed the final two months of the season due to injury. West Ham finished sixth, at that point the club's highest ever finish.[1][17]

In April 1959, Keeble and teammate Malcolm Musgrove played for a Football Combination representative side against a Select Dutch XI in Amsterdam.[1]

The 1959–60 season would prove to be his last as a player. He made 15 league appearances, scoring six goals, but was forced to retire, aged 29, due to a back injury. His final game came against Leeds United on 16 January 1960.[1][17]

Keeble made a total of 84 League and FA Cup appearances for West Ham and scored 51 goals.[15]

Style of play

Keeble was renowned for his ability to score goals from the air. His headed goals prompted Jackie Milburn to once comment: "Vic scored so many goals with his nut that I swear he had studs in his forehead". His tendency to score goals with his head, rather than his feet, also earned him the moniker 'Feeble Keeble' while at Newcastle.[10]

West Ham teammate Malcolm Pyke, discussing Keeble in later life, pointed to some of his other attributes: "Ted Fenton bought Vic Keeble from Newcastle because he thought he could be good in the air, which he was. But what he didn't recognise was what a good target man Vic was. We could play balls from defence into Vic Keeble and he would hold them in to himself or knock them off. He brought Jackie Dick into the play a lot more, got more out of Jackie Dick, and made more use of the wingers in terms of crosses".[18]

After football

After retirement, Keeble moved back to north Essex and worked as a football reporter.[17] He remained active, winning medals in local table tennis competitions in the late 1960s.[19]

He later returned to Colchester United as commercial manager.[16] In the late 1970s, he joined Chelmsford City, initially working as an administrator. He went on to become the club's general manager and secretary.[20]

His son, Chris Keeble, also played professionally for Colchester United.[21]

He died in January 2018, at the age of 87, by which time he was the last surviving member of Newcastle's FA Cup winning sides of the 1950s.[22]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Colchester United 1947–48[23] Southern League 12 8 — 3[a] 1 15 9
1948–49[24] Southern League 12 8 — 3[a][b] 1 15 9
1949–50[25] Southern League 45 43 1 0 5[a] 4 51 47
1950–51[26] Third Division South 21 7 — — 21 7
1951–52[27] Third Division South 25 16 3 1 — 28 17
Total 115 82 4 1 11 6 130 89
Newcastle United[6] 1951–52 First Division 5 3 — — 5 3
1952–53 First Division 17 6 2 2 1[c] 2 20 10
1953–54 First Division 11 6 1 1 — 12 7
1954–55 First Division 19 10 9 5 — 28 15
1955–56 First Division 32 26 4 3 — 36 29
1956–57 First Division 14 4 — — 14 4
1957–58 First Division 6 1 — — 6 1
Total 104 56 16 11 1 2 121 69
West Ham United[15] 1957–58 Second Division 29 19 3 4 1[d] 1 33 24
1958–59 First Division 32 20 1 0 2[d] 1 35 21
1959–60 First Division 15 6 — 1[d] 0 16 6
Total 76 45 4 4 4 2 84 51
Career total 295 183 24 16 16 10 335 209
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in the Southern League Cup
  2. ^ Includes the Southern League Cup Final carried over from 1947 to 1948
  3. ^ Appearance in the FA Charity Shield
  4. ^ a b c Appearances in the Southern Floodlight Cup

Honours

Colchester United[28][29]

Newcastle United[30]

West Ham United[21]

Individual

  • Colchester United Hall of Fame inductee: 2007–08[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Hillier, Roger. "Vic Keeble (1930–2018)". theyflysohigh.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Vic Keeble". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b Waldron, Jonathan (31 January 2018). "U's mourn former centre-forward Vic Keeble". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  4. ^ Dalby, Tom (2 February 2018). "Tributes paid to U's 'legend' Vic Keeble". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Hudson, Matt (31 January 2018). "Vic Keeble: 1930–2018". Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "Vic Keeble". 11v11.com. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  7. ^ Bird, Simon (8 January 2016). "Meet Vic Keeble, last surviving member of Newcastle's 1955 FA Cup winning side". The Mirror. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Northcutt, John; Marsh, Steve (2015). West Ham United: The Complete Record. deCoubertin Books. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-909245-27-3.
  9. ^ "Manchester United v Newcastle United, 24 September 1952". 11v11.com. Association of Football Statisticians. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Fletcher, Kev (2015). The Toon's Greatest 100 Players...EVER!. Lulu.com. pp. 125–127. ISBN 978-1-326-29685-8.
  11. ^ Hutchinson, Lisa (24 June 2013). "Newcastle United hero Vic Keeble visits home patch". ChronicleLive. Newcastle. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  12. ^ Clarke, Ged (2011). Newcastle United: Fifty Years of Hurt. Mainstream Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-78057-304-5.
  13. ^ "Vic Keeble, 1930 – 2018". Newcastle United F.C. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  14. ^ Hogg, Tony (2005). Who's Who of West Ham United. Profile Sports Media. p. 116. ISBN 1-903135-50-8.
  15. ^ a b c "Vic Keeble". westhamstats.info. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Vic Keeble – 1930–2018". West Ham United F.C. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  17. ^ a b c Evans, Dave (16 February 2018). "West Ham pay tribute to one of their greats". Newham Recorder. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  18. ^ Belton, Brian (1999). Days of Iron: The Story of West Ham United in the Fifties. Breedon Books. p. 140. ISBN 1-85983-153-2.
  19. ^ Kerns, Steve (4 February 2018). "Obituary – Vic Keeble". tabletennis365.com. Chelmsford Table Tennis League. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  20. ^ Lee, Matt (5 February 2018). "Vic Keeble (1930–2018)". Chelmsford City F.C. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  21. ^ a b "PICSoccer: From U's to Newcastle – 50 years before Lua Lua". Daily Gazette. Colchester. 28 March 2001. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  22. ^ Gibson, John (31 January 2018). "Vic Keeble, Newcastle United's FA Cup winning hero, dies at the age of 87". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Matches for Vic Keeble: 1947–48". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Matches for Vic Keeble: 1948–49". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  25. ^ "Matches for Vic Keeble: 1949–50". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  26. ^ "Matches for Vic Keeble: 1950–51". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Matches for Vic Keeble: 1951–52". coludata.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Southern League Honours". coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  29. ^ "Southern League Cup Honours". coludaybyday.co.uk. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  30. ^ Vernon, Leslie; Rollin, Jack (1977). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78. London: Brickfield Publications Ltd. p. 490. ISBN 0354 09018 6.
  • Vic Keeble at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database
  • Vic Keeble at toon1892.com
  • Vic Keeble at Spartacus Educational