| Harold Roberts | |
| Fullname: | Harold Roberts |
| Position: | Outside left |
| Birth Date: | 12 January 1920 |
| Birth Place: | Liverpool, England |
| Death Place: | Chesterfield, England |
| Youthclubs1: | Everton |
| Years1: | 193?–1939 |
| Clubs1: | Harrowby |
| Years2: | 1939–1948 |
| Clubs2: | Chesterfield |
| Caps2: | 92 |
| Goals2: | 9 |
| Years3: | 1948–1951 |
| Caps3: | 34 |
| Goals3: | 2 |
| Years4: | 1951–1953 |
| Caps4: | 70 |
| Goals4: | 16 |
| Years5: | 1953–195? |
| Caps5: | 17 |
| Goals5: | 1 |
| Years6: | 1955–1956 |
| Clubs6: | Matlock Town |
| Years7: | 1956–1957 |
| Clubs7: | Gresley Rovers |
| Years8: | 1957–19?? |
| Clubs8: | Burton Albion |
Harold Roberts (12 January 1920 – 11 February 2007), also known as Harry Roberts, was an English professional footballer who made 213 appearances in the Football League playing for Chesterfield, Birmingham City, Shrewsbury Town and Scunthorpe United.[1] He played as an outside left.
Roberts was born in Liverpool.[2] As a 16-year-old he spent a season with Everton, and then played for Harrowby. He joined Chesterfield in September 1939, just before the Football League was suspended for the duration of the Second World War.[3] During the war, Roberts served with No. 2 Commando. He was wounded in the legs and captured during Operation Chariot, the raid on the French port of Saint-Nazaire in 1942, and owed the possibility of a football career to the repair work carried out by a German surgeon.[3] [4] Roberts spent years in a prisoner-of-war camp in Bremen. On his return, he lodged with Chesterfield coach and former England international Joe Spence, whose individual work with Roberts played a major role in his recovery.[3]
He scored on his first-team debut, in the 1945–46 FA Cup at home to York City, and made his Football League debut on 31 August 1946, in the Second Division in a 1–1 draw at home to Bradford Park Avenue.[5] Described as "an outside-left of great distinction, ... skilful, intelligent and, above all, fast, with an excellent pin-point cross",[3] Roberts made 92 league appearances for the club in years. In November 1948 he moved on to Birmingham City, recently promoted to the First Division, for a fee of £10,600, at the time a record fee received by the Chesterfield club.[3] During his time at Birmingham he suffered a number of injuries which restricted his appearances to 38 in a -year stay. At the end of the 1950–51 season, Roberts joined Shrewsbury Town of the Third Division South,[2] where he played regularly for two seasons[1] before finishing his league career with infrequent outings for Scunthorpe United over a further two seasons.[6]
Roberts then played non-league football for Matlock Town, Gresley Rovers, for whom he scored 6 goals from 38 games,[7] and Burton Albion, and helped with the coaching of Matlock Town's reserve team as they won the Central Alliance Division Two title and League Cup in the 1959–60 season.[8] [9] During the 1960s Roberts spent eight years as a youth worker at Staveley Chantry youth club, where he established a football team. He then returned to Chesterfield F.C., initially as an assistant youth coach, and remained at the club until 1983, when he was one of several staff dismissed by a new board of directors. He later acted as a scout for Sheffield United and Rotherham United.[3] [10]
Roberts was married to Dorothy and had two sons,[10] one of whom, Peter, also played league football for Chesterfield.[3] [11] Harold Roberts died in hospital in Chesterfield in 2007 at the age of 87.[10]