Bobby Whitelaw Explained

Bobby Whitelaw
Fullname:Robert Whitelaw
Birth Date:5 March 1903
Birth Place:Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Death Place:Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England
Youthclubs1:Larkhall Thistle
Years1:1926–1930
Clubs1:Doncaster Rovers
Caps1:31
Goals1:1
Years2:1930–1932
Clubs2:Celtic
Caps2:17
Goals2:0
Years3:1931
Clubs3:Albion Rovers (loan)
Years4:1932–1933
Clubs4:Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
Caps4:10
Goals4:2
Years5:1933
Clubs5:Glentoran
Years6:1933–1934
Clubs6:Queen of the South
Years7:1934
Clubs7:Celtic
Caps7:
Goals7:
Clubs8:Cowdenbeath
Clubs9:Albion Rovers
Clubs10:Glentoran
Years11:1936–1937
Clubs11:Southampton
Caps11:20
Goals11:1
Years12:1937–19??
Clubs12:Kidderminster Harriers

Robert Whitelaw (5 March 1903 – 1965)[1] was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half back for various clubs in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland in the 1920s and 1930s.

Football career

Whitelaw was born in Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire and first played junior football with local club, Larkhall Thistle.[2]

In July 1926,[3] he moved to England to join Doncaster Rovers of the Football League Third Division North, where he remained for four years, making 31 league appearances, scoring once.[2]

Whitelaw returned to his native Scotland in August 1930 to join Celtic. He made his debut in a 0–0 draw away to Hamilton Academical on 13 September.[4] Described as "a whole-hearted 90 minutes player", he was mainly used as cover for Chic Geatons.[4] Whitelaw remained at Parkhead until June 1932, when he moved to the south coast of England to join Bournemouth, of the Football League Third Division South.[3]

The following summer, he moved to Northern Ireland to join Glentoran, but he was soon back in Scotland with Queen of the South[2] before returning to Celtic in 1934.[4] After a very short time, he was again on the move spending time with Cowdenbeath, Albion Rovers and back at Glentoran[2] before returning to the south coast of England, to join Second Division Southampton in May 1936.[3]

Whitelaw was signed by Southampton's new manager George Goss as a replacement for the recently retired Stan Woodhouse.[3] His debut for the Saints came on 5 September 1936, in the first Second Division match played at Villa Park, which ended in a 4–0 defeat.[5] Whitelaw retained his place at right-half in the Southampton team, where he combined well with fellow half-backs, Bill Kennedy and Billy Kingdon,[3] until December when he lost his place to Cyril King.[5] Although he made one further appearance at the end of the season, he was not offered a new contract and left the club in May 1937, winding up his career at non-league Kidderminster Harriers.[3]

Later career

During the Second World War, he was engaged as an interpreter for military intelligence.[4] He subsequently became an hotelier in Kidderminster.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Chalk . Gary . Holley . Duncan . Bull . David . amp . All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. 2013. Southampton . Hagiology Publishing. 978-0-9926-8640-6. 202.
  2. Book: Joyce, Michael . Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. 2004 . Tony Brown . Nottingham. 1-899468-67-6. 278.
  3. Book: The Alphabet of the Saints. Holley . Duncan. Chalk. Gary. ACL & Polar Publishing . 1992. 0-9514862-3-3. 362.
  4. Web site: Whitelaw, Robert. Player profiles. thecelticwiki.com. 22 October 2012.
  5. Book: Saints – A complete record. Chalk. Gary. Holley. Duncan . Breedon Books. 1987. 0-907969-22-4. 97.