Robert Houston (9 January 1877 – 29 November 1954) was a Scottish

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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for St Bernard's, Heart of Midlothian and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

.(Hearts player) Robert Houston
London Hearts Supporters ClubThe Spurs Alphabet
Bob Goodwin; Lulu.com, 2017; In two seasons with Hearts (joining the club alongside St Bernard's teammate Mark Bell) he claimed winner's medals in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

, followed by the 1901–02 World Championship. The opposition they defeated in the cross-border challenge was 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 ...

holders Tottenham, who signed Houston a few months later; in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he lost the battle for a regular place in the side with future English international

Vivian Woodward Vivian John Woodward (3 June 1879 – 31 January 1954) was an English footballer who enjoyed the peak of his career from the turn of the 20th century to the outbreak of the First World War. He played for Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea. He capt ...

and returned to Scotland a year later, aged 30. After that point, no appearances were recorded for him in major competitions. He had married the daughter of Tottenham's groundsman, and later returned to act as an assistant in the role.

References

Scottish footballers St Bernard's F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players 1877 births 1954 deaths Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players Southern Football League players Footballers from Fife People from Leven, Fife Association football forwards Tottenham Hotspur F.C. non-playing staff {{Scotland-footy-forward-1870s-stub