Jack Hixon alongside Alan Shearer
The passing of Jack Hixon represents a sad day for sport and the North East. Although he received public acclaim as a legendary scout, the tributes from a large number of the players he unearthed are indicative of his qualities as a ‘peoples person’. He cared about football, he cared about his players, and he was passionate about supporting young people.
Alan Shearer commented that ‘It’s a very sad day. Jack was a lovely man, very hard working and very dedicated. We were very close and he will be badly missed’.
After serving alongside Burnley and England winger Billy Elliott in the Royal Navy, Hixon joined the Lancashire club as a scout in 1950. Whilst working for British Rail he used his base in the North East to find players including Dave Merrington, Stan Ternent and Mick Buxton – all of whom enjoyed careers in the game long after they retired from playing.
Another more recent find was ex-Burnley player Steve Davis who was schooled in Ponteland and a product of Montague Boys Club. Now first team coach at Burnley Steve commented that ‘he found me playing for South Northumberland and from there I went to Southampton, I spoke to him every week from the age of 16. I spoke to him last week and then heard the news before our game on Sunday. He helped me so much and had so much knowledge of the game’.
In total Jack discovered forty-seven players who went on to enjoy professional careers and play at the top flight of English football. However his greatest impact is the manner in which he went out of his way to support ‘his’ players. Football and the North East are lesser for his passing.