Supermac Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

Former Newcastle United striker Malcolm Macdonald has joined some of the Magpies' greatest ever figures in the club charity's Hall of Fame, following a vote by supporters.

Macdonald's induction presentation took place at the city's Discovery Museum on Wednesday evening and formed part of a special event celebrating the success of the Newcastle United Foundation's Toon Times exhibition.

Launched at the museum in February, the exhibition will achieve more than 315,000 visitors - more than the population of Newcastle upon Tyne - when it concludes on Sunday.

The exhibition is an extension of the Foundation's Toon Times educational programme, which charts the history of Newcastle United through historic items, props and interactive displays to improve the learning techniques of young people.

Macdonald was inducted following an interactive voting process at the museum and joins Bobby Mitchell and Bill McCracken, who were also added this week.

The Fulham-born forward, affectionately known as Supermac for his magnificent goal scoring achievements, is a key part of the Newcastle United story.

Signed from Luton Town by Joe Harvey in 1971, he wore the famous number nine shirt with distinction and went on to be the Club's top scorer across five successive seasons.

While still a Newcastle player, Supermac scored all five goals for England in a 5-0 win over Cyprus in 1975 - a record that still stands today. He left the Magpies to join Arsenal in 1976 but has remained a revered figure on Tyneside.

Kate Bradley, head of the Newcastle United Foundation, said: "We wanted fans to have their say on who should be next inducted to the Hall of Fame via an interactive vote and Malcolm Macdonald was their stand-out choice. We are delighted to induct him.

"The Toon Times exhibition has been a fantastic success for the Newcastle United Foundation and the Discovery Museum and that has all been possible due to fans coming along in huge numbers.

"The feedback we have had has been extremely positive and we hope many more people will be aware of what we do and will continue to work with us and support the charity."

The Toon Times educational programme has been made possible by funding from the Premier League PFA Community Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and North-East teaching agency First Class Supply and has reached 15,000 children across 430 Tyneside schools.

To find out more about the Newcastle United Foundation and how it works with 50,000 young people and their families across the region each year, please visit www.nufoundation.org.uk.

The Discovery Museum is located in Blandford Square, close to St. James' Boulevard, and is open from 10am-4pm midweek and 11am-4pm at weekends. Admission is free.