Robert "Bob" Jack (4 April 1876 – 6 May 1943) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and

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 ...

. Born in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where ...

, Jack played 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 ...

for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

and

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

, and the Southern League for

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

and

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

. He was an

outside 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 ...

. Jack is Argyle's most successful and longest-serving manager. During his 29 years in charge, the club won two league championships and established itself in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

of the Football League. Jack also managed Southend for four years. His son,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, scored the first goal at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

Playing career

Jack began his career with

Alloa Athletic Alloa Athletic Football Club is a Scottish association football semi-professional club based in the town of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Formed as Alloa in 1880, the football club shortly changed its name to Alloa Association, and then to Alloa Ath ...

, making his debut at the age of 15 and turning professional in 1893. He moved to

in 1895. He was Bolton's leading scorer in the 1896–97 season with 11 goals. He played a total for 110 league and 15

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 ...

games for the club, scoring 29 goals. He left Bolton in August 1901, following a serious ankle injury.Bob Jack
Greens on Screen. Retrieved 25 February 2010. He joined local rivals

after scoring 29 goals in 110 league games for Bolton. He spent just one season with Preston, scoring 6 goals in 22 league games, before joining

the following summer. After a further 6 goals in 30 appearances he moved to

, becoming the club's first professional in 1903. He made his Argyle debut in September 1903 against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in the Western League. In

1904–05 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 ...

, the club's handbook described him as "our famous flier, probably last season was the best in the player's history".

Managerial career

Following the departure of

Frank Brettell Frank E. Brettell (1862–1936) was an English football player, manager and administrator. He played as a full-back for Everton, a club that was originally called St. Domingo's. He combined his role as player-secretary-manager with his full ...

, Jack became player-manager of Plymouth Argyle in 1905,

1905–06 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 ...

, and led the club to third in the Western League and fifth in the Southern League. He left the club in the summer to take up the position of player-manager at

. In his first two seasons with Southend they won the Southern League Second Division title, gaining election to the Southern League First Division in 1908. He retired as a player at the end of the 1909–10 season and re-joined Plymouth Argyle as manager, remaining in charge at Home Park until April 1938 when he retired. During his 28 seasons in charge, Jack had guided Argyle to the Southern League title in 1913 and into

in 1920. In their first season in the league they finished 11th in the Third Division, but finished runners-up in all of the next six seasons. They finally clinched the title and promotion in the 1929–30 season.Plymouth Argyle: 101 Golden Greats In total, he took charge of 1,093 matches for the "Pilgrims".

Later life

Jack lived in

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

during his retirement, occasionally working as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

for his son

while he was manager at Southend. In addition to David, two of his other sons, (

Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...

and

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

), also played professionally for

. Despite being Scottish, Jack represented England at

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

for several years, including being Captain. He won the English Bowling Association Singles Championship in 1926. His ashes were scattered over the pitch at

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England. The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901.

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Managerial honours

;

* Southern League Second Division **Winner (2):

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 ...

, 1907–08 ;

Southern League First Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the Englis ...

**Winner (1): 1912–13 **Runner-up (1): 1911–12 *

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

**Winner (1): 1929–30 **Runner-up (6): 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27

References

;General * * * ;Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Bob 1876 births 1943 deaths People from Alloa Scottish footballers Association football forwards Alloa Athletic F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Glossop North End A.F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Southend United F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Western Football League players Scottish football managers Plymouth Argyle F.C. managers Southend United F.C. managers English Football League managers English male bowls players Sportspeople from Clackmannanshire