Robert William Jefferson (June 1882 – July 1966) was an English professional football player and manager.

Early life

Robert William Jefferson was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Tyne and Wear in 1882. He left school to join the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, before deserting after a few weeks to become an apprentice moulder at a foundry back in Sunderland. At this time, he began playing junior football with local team Sunderland Royal Rovers, before becoming a professional footballer. Jefferson served as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during the

First World War 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 ...

Career

Jefferson played primarily as an

outside right 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 ...

, but could play at any forward or

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

position. He began his professional career at

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

in November 1904, scoring six goals in 30 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

over the next two seasons. Jefferson joined local rivals

Leeds City Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. It was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities, after which Leeds United was established as a replacement. History The club was ...

in May 1906, scoring on his debut against

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is an English professional association football, football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football league system, Eng ...

. By May 1908, Jefferson had moved to

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

along with former-Leeds players Harry Kay and Jack Lavery. Jefferson was to remain with the Wiltshire club for the next 14 years, despite his career being disrupted by the First World War. At Swindon, Jefferson made 356 appearances in all competitions, scoring 82 goals. His spell at Swindon included an appearance in the

1911 FA Charity Shield The 1911 FA Charity Shield was the fourth Charity Shield, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Football League and Southern League competitions. The match was played on 25 September 1911 between Mancheste ...

, and eleven appearances for the Southern Football League representative team. Jefferson also scored in Swindon's first ever game in

, in a 9–1 victory against

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

. In total, Jefferson made 321 appearances in

and the Southern Football League between 1904 and 1922, scoring 78 goals. In May 1922 Jefferson joined non-League team

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

, where he ended his playing career one year later.

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Jefferson went to the Netherlands to work as a coach. He started in Haarlem with HFC. After his one-year spell at the oldest footballclub of the Netherlands he left for

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

to coach local team Vitesse Arnhem from 1924 to 1927. During this time he also coached

Tubantia ''Tubantia'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish that lived during the upper Campanian. See also * Prehistoric fish The evolution of fish began about 530 million years ago during the Cambrian explosion. It was during this time ...

from

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel. The city lies along the motorways A1/E30 and A35 and it has a station for the international Amsterdam – Hannover – Berlin service. Popu ...

from mid February until the first of June 1926 in order to prepare them for the promotion competition after which he returned to Vitesse. Though, as expected, he became champions with Tubantia, they eventually did not win the promotion competition. He then went to Hilversum to coach 't Gooi for two years. In the last of his two years in Hilversum he also coached Eindhoven. In 1929 he went to Groningen to coach Velocitas. During his time here he also coached HSC from nearby

Hoogezand Hoogezand is a town in the municipality of Midden-Groningen, in the province of Groningen in northeast Netherlands. History The name refers to a higher sanded ''(Hooge Sandt)'' place in the peatlands cut through when the Winschoterdiep chann ...

and FVC from faraway

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Stadsfries dialects, Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Fri ...

. With Velocitas he won the Dutch

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 ...

in 1934. After this success he left Velocitas to coach what was to be his last club in the Netherlands: Velox where he was let go in 1938.Jefferson verlaat Velox
Utrechts volksblad, 1 April 1938, page 6

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferson, Bob 1882 births 1966 deaths Footballers from Sunderland English footballers English football managers Bradford City A.F.C. players Leeds City F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Bath City F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Expatriate football managers in the Netherlands English expatriate football managers SBV Vitesse managers FC Eindhoven managers Men's association football outside forwards Men's association football inside forwards Royal Air Force personnel of World War I