Robert Allan Delgado (born 29 January 1949) is a Welsh former

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 made 281 league appearances in a ten-year career in 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 ...

. He was a versatile player with power both in the air and in the tackle. He moved from non-League

Barry Town Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Y Barri) is a semi-professional association football team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during ...

to Luton Town in 1970 before joining

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...

the following year. Following a loan spell with Workington in 1973, he moved on to Rotherham United. He helped the "Millers" to win promotion out of the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

in 1974–75, before joining

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in October 1975 for £6,000. He was sold on to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

for £30,000 in December 1978, before leaving the English game for American club

Miami Americans The Miami Americans was an American soccer club based in Miami, Florida that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team existed for only the 1980 season and played their home games at Tropical Park Stadium. History In late 1979, Joseph ...

in 1980. He later had spells with English club

Oswestry Town Oswestry Town Football Club was a football club from Shropshire, playing at Victoria Road. They joined the Birmingham League in 1924 and switched to the Cheshire County League in 1959. In 1975 they made the move to the Southern League before ...

, Welsh club Colwyn Bay, and Hong Kong side

Bulova SA Bulova was a Hong Kong football club which were dissolved after the 1984–85 season. In 1977, Bulova entered Hong Kong Third Division League and proposed a three-year plan to get promotion to First Division. In 1979–80 season, Bulova appeare ...

Early life

Robert Allan Delgado was born in Cardiff on 29 January 1949. He was the son of Pedro (known as Peter) Delgado, a native of the

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

islands, a seaman who settled in Cardiff in the early 20th century. Delgado was the first Black player to represent Carlisle United and Rotherham United in the Football League.

Career

Delgado signed for Luton Town from

in February 1970, after Harry Haslam spotted him playing for the Southern League side. However, he never took to the field at Kenilworth Road and was moved on to

in 1971.''Where are they now? – Bob Delgado'', Chester City v Stoke City matchday programme 3/10/92, p. 20 The "Cumbrians" finished tenth in the Second Division in 1971–72 under Ian MacFarlane. Failing to nail down a first-team place at

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

under new boss

Alan Ashman George Alan Ashman (30 May 1928 – 30 November 2002) was an English association footballer, best remembered for some notable managerial successes. Playing career Born in Rotherham, West Riding of Yorkshire, Ashman had an undistinguished amateu ...

in 1972–73, Delgado was loaned out to Workington of the

. A move to Rotherham United followed, who had just been demoted to the basement division of the

Jimmy McGuigan James McGuigan (1 March 1924 – 30 March 1988) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. Career Playing career McGuigan, who played as a wing half, played junior football with Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic, before turning professi ...

guided the "Millers" to 15th in 1973–74, before the Millmoor club returned to the

Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

with a third-place finish in 1974–75. He moved to league rivals

in October 1975, with

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Ken Roberts paying out a £6,000 fee. He became a favourite with the fans thanks to his 'hard man' approach. The "Seals" finished in the lower half of the table in 1975–76 and 1976–77, as new boss

Alan Oakes Alan Arthur Oakes (born 7 September 1942) is an English former footballer who holds Manchester City's all-time record for appearances. A midfielder, in total he played 776 the Football League matches – the tenth most in history. He is a co ...

began to build his own team. Chester missed out on promotion in 1977–78 by two places and two points. Delgado left Sealand Road in December 1978, when

manager

Dennis Butler Dennis Anthony Butler (born 24 June 1944) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a winger for Bolton Wanderers between 1959 and 1968, before ending his playing career following a five-year spell at Rochdale. Later wor ...

splashed out £30,000 to secure Delgado's services. He made his debut on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

in a 6–2 defeat to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports development in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used primarily by Barnsley Football Club for playing their home fixtures, and those of their reserves. While the name 'Oakwell' generally refers to the main s ...

. He played 24 games in 1978–79 and 19 games in 1979–80, as the "Valiants" had some of their poorest seasons in the Fourth Division. Delgado never showed his best form at Vale Park, the low point in his spell coming when he scored an own goal in a 7–1 defeat to Huddersfield Town at Leeds Road. His contract was cancelled in May 1980 by new manager John McGrath, following three months on the sidelines. He subsequently joined up with the short-lived American Soccer League side

, who only competed for the 1980 season. He then joined Welsh club

. He joined Hong Kong-based

for the 1983–84 season and helped the club to secure second place in the First Division League. He then returned to Britain and played for Colwyn Bay.

Later life

Delgado later managed Upton AA in the

West Cheshire League The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire, which also includes teams from Merseyside. Its current principal sponsor is ''Carlsberg'', also sp ...

and played for veterans side Chester Nomads while working as a sales manager for a travel company.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Rotherham United *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...

third-place promotion: 1974–75

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delgado, Bob 1949 births Living people Footballers from Cardiff British people of Cape Verdean descent Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Cardiff Corinthians F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Welsh expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States Miami Americans players Oswestry Town F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Bulova SA players Colwyn Bay F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Hong Kong First Division League players