Robert William Benson (9 February 1883 – 19 February 1916) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played as a full back. Born in

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

, Cumbria he spent the majority of his professional career with

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

but also had spells with

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and Woolwich Arsenal. He gained a solitary

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

cap in 1913 as well as representing

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and undertaking an FA tour of South Africa but died as a result of playing a football match in 1916.

Club career

Newcastle United

Benson had worked as a coal-miner whilst playing for various local clubs in and around

where he was born, including Swalwell, where he was spotted by

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

and signed as a professional in December 1902. Competition for places restricted him to just a single appearance for the club, on 7 March 1903.

Southampton

Soon after the start of the 1904–05 season, the

directors were trying to recruit a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

following the departure of Tom Robertson in the summer. Joe Hoare had been tried but was now past his prime, so the directors sent a club official to the north east to hunt for a player. The official's quest took him to Newcastle, where he interviewed Benson and, after agreeing a

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...

of £150 with the Magpies, the official returned "triumphantly" to the south coast with his "catch". Benson made his Southampton debut on 1 October 1904, in a 1–1 draw at home to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. Benson's form was immediately impressive; described as "big and bold", he was a terror to opposition forwards, "snuffing out their moves with his sense of anticipation". Benson also developed an unorthodox method of taking penalties – by running the full length of the pitch from his full-back position before kicking the ball. However, this method of penalty-taking was not a success, never actually converting any of the penalties he took in his year with the "Saints". During his one season at The Dell, Benson missed several long periods through injury, when he was replaced by the veteran

Samuel Meston Samuel Meston (16 January 1872 – 14 August 1948) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half-back for Stoke and Southampton. Whilst with Southampton, he appeared in two FA Cup Finals and won six Southern League championship ...

, and made 19 Southern League appearances, plus three in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, before a summer 1905 transfer took him back to the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

for a fee of £150, when he joined

Sheffield United

Benson had arrived at

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

relatively cheaply, with

mistakenly believing that

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

had retained his registration and thus were due an additional fee from the Blades. He spent eight seasons at

, cementing himself in the defence where he developed into a strong tackler and was commanding in the air. He became the team's regular

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

taker, perfecting a routine whereby he would jog slowly up from his normal defensive position before breaking into a run and shooting after a teammate had placed the ball on the spot – all but one of his 21 goals scored for United coming from the penalty spot. Benson took over the captaincy from Bernard Wilkinson but soon relinquished it to Jack English when he lost his place in the first team through injury, following which he requested a transfer. During his time with Sheffield United, the club generally finished in mid-table, with their highest finish being fourth in

1906–07 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. He played 283 matches for Sheffield United in all competitions, scoring 21 goals, including 20 penalties.

Woolwich Arsenal

In April 1913 Benson joined Woolwich Arsenal, soon after they had made their move to

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

. He made his debut against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on 29 November 1913, and over two seasons he made 53 appearances for the Gunners, mostly at full-back although he was later moved to

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, and eventually scored seven goals for the club as they tried for promotion back into the First Division; Arsenal would eventually win re-election based on their position of fifth in 1914–15 after the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Due to the war, in 1915 first-class football was suspended. Benson quit the game to work at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

, munitions factory. He kept in touch with his old club and on 19 February 1916 attended a

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

match at Highbury against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. With his former teammate Joe Shaw unable to make the game, Benson volunteered to take his place, which ultimately had fatal consequences. Having not played a game for nearly a year, Benson was not match-fit. He collapsed on the pitch in the second half and had to be taken off; soon afterwards he died in the Highbury changing rooms, in the arms of team trainer

George Hardy George Hardy may refer to: * George Hardy (actor) (born 1954), American dentist and star of cult film ''Troll 2'' * George Hardy (labor leader) (1911–1990), Canadian-American labor leader * George Hardy (artist) (1822–1909), British genre pain ...

. It was later determined he had died of a burst

blood vessel The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away ...

, from a long-standing medical condition. Benson was buried wearing his Arsenal shirt. Three months later, Arsenal held a

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

in his honour, against a Rest of London XI, with the proceeds going to his widow; over 5,000 attended to pay their respects.

International career

His form at

brought him to the notice of

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

and in 1910 he was a member of the F.A. touring party to South Africa, as well as representing the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

on one occasion. He received his solitary cap for

on 15 February 1913 when he played at left-back against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, when England lost 2–1, with both Irish goals coming from Benson's Sheffield United teammate

Billy Gillespie William Ballintrae Gillespie (6 August 1891 – 2 July 1981) was an Irish association football, football player who played as a Forward (association football), striker for Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United over a twenty-year period from 1 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Bob 1883 births 1916 deaths Footballers from Whitehaven English men's footballers England men's international footballers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Southern Football League players Newcastle United F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Association football players who died while playing Sport deaths in England English Football League representative players Newcastle United F.C. wartime guest players