Biography
Young Scottish inside left Joseph “Joe” Cassidy joined the Tigers in May 1935. Born in the Govan area of Glasgow, Cassidy had played for several local junior sides in his teenage years and had made his reputation at Glasgow-based side Ashfield Juniors prior to his move to the Tigers.
Hull City were struggling at the foot of the Division Two table by the end of November 1935 when beleaguered manager Jack Hill introduced Cassidy to the Tigers’ first team. Joe scored on his second appearance, a 2-2 draw at Leicester City, but after three crushing defeats over the festive period Cassidy was dropped and Hill was relieved of his duties a week later. Hill’s successor, the returning David Menzies, only turned to Cassidy on the last day of the season, by which time he had piloted the Tigers to the foot of the table and relegation to Division Three North.
Menzies died suddenly in October 1936 and was replaced two months later by Ernest Blackburn, throughout this period of turmoil Cassidy languished in the City Reserves. Not until February 1937 did Cassidy make it back to the first team in a high scoring game that City lost 3-6 to Gateshead. With the inside left position occupied regularly by goalscoring Welshman Dai Davies, Cassidy was unable to break into the City starting eleven again and he left the club in the 1937 close season.
It appears he gave up football on leaving the Tigers and by 1939 he was working in Derby for the Air Ministry. He remained in the Midlands for the rest of his life, working as a lecturer before dying in Solihull in May 1994.
Details
Nationality: Scotland
Date/Place of Birth: 19 November 1914, Govan
Hull City First Game: 30 November 1935, Bradford Park Avenue H (Division Two), 21 years, 11 days old
Hull City Final Game: 13 February 1937, Gateshead A (Division Three North), 22 years, 86 days old
Clubs
Croy Celtic (1931), Cumbernauld Thistle (1931-1932), Ashfield Juniors (1932-1935), Hull City (1935-1937)
Hull City Record
Career: 8 apps, 1 goals
Joe Cassidy| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935/36 | 7 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1936/37 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |