Bob Thompson (footballer, born February 1890)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Thompson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 February 1890[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Bell's Close, Scotswood, England | ||
| Date of death | 3 July 1958 (aged 68)[2] | ||
| Place of death | Liverpool, England[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Full back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Blaydon | |||
| Swalwell | |||
| 19??–1911 | Scotswood | ||
| 1911–1913 | Leicester Fosse | 27 | (0) |
| 1913–1921 | Everton | 83 | (0) |
| 1921–1922 | Millwall | 9 | (0) |
| 1922–1923 | Tranmere Rovers | 35 | (5) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Thompson (27 February 1890 – 3 July 1958) was an English professional footballer who made 154 appearances in the Football League playing as a full back for Leicester Fosse, Everton, Millwall and Tranmere Rovers. He was a regular in the Everton team that won the 1914–15 Football League title.
Life and career[edit]
Thompson was born in 1890 in Bell's Close, Scotswood, Northumberland. He was a younger son of William Dann Thompson, a cartman, and his wife, Dorothy.[3][4] The 1911 Census finds him living with his widowed mother and younger brother, still in Bell's Close, and working as a sand extraction labourer.[5]
Thompson played non-league football in the Newcastle area for Blaydon, Swalwell and Scotswood[1] before signing for Football League Second Division club Leicester Fosse in 1911. He made his debut on 16 September in a 4–1 defeat away to Nottingham Forest, and made nine league appearances in the 1911–12 season. He appeared more often in the following season,[3] and attracted the attention of First Division club Everton. He and team-mate George Harrison signed for Everton in April 1913 for a fee of £750 the pair.[6]
Thompson made his first appearance on 4 October 1913 in a 2–0 win at home to Middlesbrough and was almost ever-present for the rest of the season.[1] Having finished 15th in 1913–14, Everton won the 1914–15 Football League title as well as reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup. Thompson played in 33 of the 38 league matches and all 5 cup-ties.[1] He acted as club captain during the First World War, giving way to Tom Fleetwood when competitive football resumed.[7] Injury interfered with Thompson's later career at Everton: he made 17 appearances in the first post-war season but rarely played in 1920–21, new signing Jock McDonald being preferred to partner Dickie Downs at full back, and was listed for transfer.[1][8]
He signed for Millwall, but made only nine appearances in the Third Division South and returned north at the end of the season to join Tranmere Rovers as captain.[1][9] He played regularly, making 35 appearances in the Third Division North, and scored his first Football League goal from the penalty spot in a 4–1 defeat to Stalybridge Celtic on 2 September 1922.[1] He retired at the end of the season and took a pub, the Albany Hotel in Kirkdale, Liverpool.[10]
Thompson died in 1958 in Liverpool.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Player search: Thompson, R (Bob)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Dave Smith & Paul Taylor: Of Fossils & Foxes: The Official, Definitive History of Leicester City Football Club. Pitch Publishing, Brighton 2016, ISBN 978-1-78531-228-1, p. 374.
- ^ a b "Robert Thompson". FoxesTalk. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "1891 England Census for Robert Thompson". RG12/4243 95 – via Ancestry.com.
- ^ "1911 England Census for Robert Thompson". RG14/30879 – via Ancestry.com.
- ^ "Everton Transfers: 1913/14". EFCStatto. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Everton Captains". EFCStatto. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Thompson leaving Everton". Sports Special. Sheffield. 11 June 1921. p. 3.
- ^ "Tranmere". Athletic News. Manchester. 7 August 1922. p. 7.
- ^ "Bob Thompson setles down". Liverpool Echo. 31 August 1923. p. 7.