Robert Birrell (6 October 1890 – 23 January 1956) was a Scottish 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 in the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, wh ...

for Heart of Midlothian,

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 18 ...

and St Mirren as a full back. He represented the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

and was later one of the founders of Crossgates Primrose.

Personal life

Birrell's younger brother

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

also became a footballer.

Career statistics

Honours

Cowdenbeath *

Scottish League Division Two The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

(2): 1913–14, 1914–15 * Eastern League (2): 1916–17, 1917–18 Heart of Midlothian * East of Scotland Shield (1): 1920–21 * Wilson Cup (2): 1918–19, 1919–20 *

Rosebery Charity Cup The Rosebery Charity Cup was a football competition organised for senior clubs from the East of Scotland. History The tournament was organised by and named for an early patron of Scottish football Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and ...

(2): 1918–19, 1920–21 Individual *

Hall of Fame

References

1890 births Scottish men's footballers 1956 deaths Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Fife Cowdenbeath F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players {{Scotland-footy-defender-1890s-stub