Bob Wilson (footballer, born September 1898) explained

Bob Wilson
Fullname:Robert Scott Wilson
Height:[1]
Birth Date:25 September 1898[2]
Birth Place:Bellshill, Scotland
Years1:
Clubs1:Cambuslang Rangers
Years2:1921–1924
Clubs2:Third Lanark
Caps2:40
Goals2:2
Years3:1924–1925
Clubs3:Bradford (Park Avenue)
Goals3:25
Years4:1925–1926
Clubs4:Shawsheen Indians
Caps4:20
Goals4:3
Years5:1926–1928
Clubs5:Fall River F.C.
Caps5:74
Goals5:4
Years6:1928
Clubs6:Bethlehem Steel
Caps6:1
Goals6:0
Years7:1928–1929
Clubs7:Pawtucket Rangers
Caps7:8
Goals7:3

Robert Scott Wilson (born 25 September 1898) was a Scottish footballer who played mainly as a centre half.

Career

Born and raised in Bellshill, he began his senior career with Third Lanark, making 30 Scottish Football League appearances in the 1922–23 Scottish Division One season.[3] In the summer of 1923 he took part in the club's tour of South America[4] [5] and three months later featured on the losing side in the final of the Glasgow Cup;[6] however, he made only four league appearances that season and moved on to Bradford (Park Avenue) in England,[3] where he underwent a positional change and became a centre forward, succeeding in the role to the extent that he finished the club's leading scorer for the campaign with 25 goals in the Football League Third Division North.

In late 1925 Wilson moved to the United States and the American Soccer League,[7] [8] reverting to a more defensive position and initially featuring not for the Fall River F.C. as had been rumoured,[9] but for newcomers the Shawsheen Indians before switching to the 'Marksmen' in time to play a part in their 1925–26 American Soccer League title-winning campaign. He remained with Fall River for two further seasons, winning the 1927 National Challenge Cup with a 7–0 win over Holley Carburetor[10] lining up alongside several other Scots including another former Third Lanark player Charlie McGill. After a single trial appearance in the ASL for Bethlehem Steel,[11] Wilson transferred to the Pawtucket Rangers (also known as J. & P. Coats) for the 1928–29 season[12] which was his last in the league.[7] It is believed that he remained in the United States after his playing career, settling in California.

Notes and References

  1. News: League clubs and their players for the coming season. Bradford . Athletic News . Manchester . 4 August 1924 . 3.
  2. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/1518/images/30807_A000736-00210?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=6488f1f74a423d196061bdf59f55867c&usePUB=true&_phsrc=DGT43&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.87165339.2081618113.1610767752-600699904.1609293102&pId=27960478 'Highland Pride': La Plata, Argentina to Liverpool, England, 4 Aug 1923
  3. A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players. John Litster. Scottish Football Historian magazine. October 2012.
  4. Web site: Río de la Plata Trip of Third Lanark 1923 . Ciullini . Pablo . . 17 January 2021.
  5. https://books.google.com/books?id=1xojAwAAQBAJ&dq=%22willie+frame%22+motherwell&pg=PT52 Tommy McInally: Celtic's Bad Bhoy
  6. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=k_dYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QqUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2246%2C3642737 Glasgow Cup Final Tie
  7. http://soccerstats.us/bios/bob-wilson/ Bob Wilson
  8. https://www.statscrew.com/minorsoccer/stats/p-wilsobob001 Bob Wilson
  9. http://bethlehemsteelsoccer.org/gl072925.html New Soccer Men For U.S. League Wilson and Cook, Star British Players, Reported as Acquisitions for America
  10. https://thecup.us/2011/09/30/the-open-cup-final-1914-present/ The US Open Cup Final: 1914-present
  11. http://bethlehemsteelsoccer.org/gl041628.html 2-2 Tie With Boston on Sunday Clinches Honor for Local Champions
  12. http://bethlehemsteelsoccer.org/gl090628.html J & P Coats Team Includes Many Stars Former Fall River Players are Aiding Threadmakers to Win Games