Robert Sherran Kiddle (10 May 1869 – 11 May 1918) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 an

inside-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 ...

for Southampton St. Mary's in the 1890s.

Football career

Kiddle was born in Southampton and had achieved distinction as a track athlete in his youth. He played football for Southampton Harriers before being recruited to the newly formed Southampton St. Mary's club in 1889. In his first few seasons at the Antelope Ground, he was restricted to friendly matches and local cup tournaments, including winning the Hampshire Junior Cup in 1890 and the Hampshire Senior Cup in each of the following two seasons. In 1891, "the Saints" made their first appearance in the FA Cup, with Kiddle making "good use of his athletic skills to outpace his opponents" as Southampton defeated Warmley 4–1 in the first qualifying round, before meeting Reading. The match ended 7–0 in favour of Southampton, but after the match Reading protested about the ineligibility of two players,

Jock Fleming James John "Jock" Fleming (September 1864 – August 1934) was a Scottish footballer who played at centre-forward for Southampton St. Mary's, Aston Villa and Lincoln City in the 1890s. Football career Fleming was born in Leith, near Edinbu ...

and Sandy McMillan, and consequently Southampton were expelled from the competition. In 1892–93, Kiddle scored a hat-trick as the Saints defeated Newbury 4–1 in the first qualifying round played at the Antelope Ground. In the second qualifying round they played

Maidenhead United Maidenhead United Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. They are currently members of and have played at York Road since 1871, making it the 'oldest senior football ground continuously ...

at the Antelope Ground on 29 October 1892 and suffered a 4–0 defeat — apart from the Hampshire County Cricket Club Charity Cup the previous April, this was the Saints first defeat in a cup match. Kiddle's final FA Cup appearance came in November 1894, when they lost 2–1 at Reading. Although Southampton were one of the founding members of the Southern League in 1894, it was not until 19 October 1895 that Kiddle made his solitary league appearance, taking the place of

Willie Naughton William A. Naughton (16 July 1870 – 23 April 1906) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played as an outside-forward for various clubs in Scotland and England in the 1880s and 1890s, including Celtic, Stoke and Southampton. Throughou ...

as the Saints crashed 7–3 at Clapton. Kiddle was now past his prime and retired shortly afterwards.

Career outside football

Kiddle was employed as a clerk in Southampton, and was later a fish merchant in Commercial Road, All Saints, Southampton. During World War One, he was a canteen manager. His two sons, Russell Sherran Kiddle, and Robert Montague Kiddle were both reserve team players for Southampton in 1919. His brother, Edward, played for Southampton in 1894, including winning the Hampshire Junior Cup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiddle, Bob 1869 births 1918 deaths Footballers from Southampton English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Southampton F.C. players Southern Football League players