Players - Bobby Robinson

Bobby Robinson
Birthdate: 1 October 1879
Birthplace: Sunderland, England
Date of death: 10 October 1950
Other clubs: South Hylton (1899-1900), Sunderland Royal Rovers (1900-02), Sunderland (1902-04), Tranmere Rovers (1913-15)
Signed from: Sunderland
Signed for LFC: £500, 11.02.1904
Liverpool debut: 13.02.1904
Last appearance: 06.04.1912
Debut goal: 22.02.1904
Last goal: 17.02.1912
Contract expiry: May 1913
Win ratio: 48.71% W:132 D:46 L:93
Games/goals ratio: 4.17
Honours: League Championship 1905/06; Second Division 1904/05
Total games/goals opposite LFC: 2 / 0
League games / goals: 254 / 64
Total games / goals: 271 / 65

Player Profile

A hard-working player who gave his all for Liverpool both up front and at the back. Robinson was a goalscoring sensation in the Sunderland school's tournaments, scoring one season 132 out of his school's 156 goals. After eighteen months with Sunderland Royal Rovers in the Wearside league Robinson joined Sunderland in the midst of the 1901/1902 season in which he contributed one goal in five appearances as Sunderland won the League title. In February 1904 he joined Liverpool shortly after a fellow Sunderland striker, Joe Hewitt, had gone to Anfield. Robinson made nine first division appearances, scoring five times before the end of that debut season but those goals were not enough to stop the club's slide into the Second Division. In his first full season at Anfield he was top-scorer with 24 from 32 League matches as Liverpool won the Second Division by two points from Bolton Wanderers. His greatest feat that season was scoring all four goals in a 4-0 home win against Leicester Fosse on 1 October 1904. 

Robinson and his colleagues coped astonishingly well back in the top division, so much so that they ended the season as champions four points ahead of Preston North End. Robinson only missed four fixtures and added another ten goals to his rapidly-growing total. During the latter stages of his Liverpool career, Robinson moved into the half-back line and so his goals-per-game average inevitably suffered but he prolonged his Anfield stay by three seasons. Prior to the 1909/10 season when Robinson was due to be moved to half-back, being the heaviest man on the team, extreme measures were used to get his surplus fat off. He was made to sit in a small “hot room” in furnace-like conditions and sprinted, ball-punched, skipped, and lifted dumbbells. In a 1912 profile it was said that he "believes that energy is invaluable in football as in the daily routine of life, and he relies mainly on his bustling tactics, determination, and unlimited energy, combined with a degree of skill for his success at half-back. Is easily distinguished when on the field by reason of his fair hair and well-built figure, and as a forward he has demonstrated his versatility."

Bobby struggled with injury in the 1912/13 season but recovered as the Liverpool Echo reported at end of January 1913: "I am delighted to inform this legion of friends that “Bobby” Robinson, the Liverpool half back, has not finished with football, and under the careful attention of Dr. Ferguson, a director of the club, he is making such progress towards health and strength that there is every hope and chance of his playing football; in fact he in training again." Robinson did never make another appearance for Liverpool's first team and joined Tranmere in the Lancashire Combination prior to the 1913/14 season.
Appearances per season
Please note

Often falsely referred to as Robbie in modern sources. He was always called Bobby.

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 254 17 0 0 0 271
1903-1904 9 0 0 0 0 9
1904-1905 32 1 0 0 0 33
1905-1906 34 4 0 0 0 38
1906-1907 28 4 0 0 0 32
1907-1908 24 2 0 0 0 26
1908-1909 21 1 0 0 0 22
1909-1910 37 1 0 0 0 38
1910-1911 38 2 0 0 0 40
1911-1912 31 2 0 0 0 33
A more detailed look at the player's appearances
Apps Minutes Opponent
15 1350 Everton
14 1260 Aston Villa
13 1170 Newcastle United
13 1170 Preston North End
13 1170 Blackburn Rovers
12 1080 Sheffield Wednesday
12 1080 Bristol City
12 1080 Middlesbrough
12 1080 Arsenal
11 990 Sheffield United
11 990 Sunderland
11 990 Bury
11 990 Manchester United
11 990 Bolton Wanderers
10 900 Notts County
10 900 Manchester City
9 810 Bradford City
8 720 Nottingham Forest
7 630 Birmingham City
6 540 Tottenham
4 360 Chelsea
4 360 Stoke City
3 270 Derby
3 270 Oldham Athletic
3 270 Barnsley
3 270 WBA
3 270 Gainsborough Trinity
2 180 Burton United
2 180 Glossop North End
2 180 Burnley
2 180 Leicester City
2 180 Wolves
2 180 Chesterfield
2 180 Grimsby Town
2 180 Port Vale
2 180 Blackpool
2 180 Lincoln City
1 90 Brighton & Hove Albion
1 90 Southampton
1 90 Norwich City
1 90 Doncaster Rovers
1 90 Brentford
1 90 Fulham
1 90 Leyton
Total Venue
137 Home
133 Away
1 Neutral
Total Competition
254 League
17 FA Cup
Total W D L Win % Manager
271 132 46 93 48.7% Tom Watson
Goals per season
Please note

Often falsely referred to as Robbie in modern sources. He was always called Bobby.

Season League FA LC Europe Other Total
Totals 64 1 0 0 0 65
1903-1904 5 0 0 0 0 5
1904-1905 24 0 0 0 0 24
1905-1906 10 0 0 0 0 10
1906-1907 8 0 0 0 0 8
1907-1908 9 0 0 0 0 9
1908-1909 5 1 0 0 0 6
1909-1910 1 0 0 0 0 1
1910-1911 0 0 0 0 0 0
1911-1912 2 0 0 0 0 2
A more detailed look at the player's goalscoring
Milestone Appearances
# Date Against Stadium Competition
1 13.02.1904 Stoke Anfield League
50 14.10.1905 The Wednesday Owlerton League
100 05.01.1907 Blackburn Rovers Anfield League
150 01.01.1909 Sunderland Roker Park League
200 10.09.1910 Blackburn Rovers Ewood Park League
250 11.11.1911 Tottenham White Hart Lane League
Milestone Goals
# Minute Date Against Stadium Competition
1 28 22.02.1904 Middlesbrough Anfield League
50 70 09.11.1907 Notts County Anfield League
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Scrapbook
Biography in Liverpool match programme on 21 January 1905
Biography in Liverpool match programme on 21 January 1905
Other Clubs
Club Season Club rank League apps League goals Total apps Total goals
South Hylton 1899-1900 Wearside League N/A N/A N/A N/A
Sunderland Royal Rovers 1900-1902 Wearside League N/A N/A N/A N/A
Sunderland 1902-1903 England First Division 17 4 17 4
Sunderland 1903-1904 England First Division 8 3 8 3
Tranmere Rovers 1913-1915 Lancashire Combination N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total 25 7 25 7