Robert Russell Pursell (18 March 1889 – 24 May 1974) 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 for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in the early 20th century. He was the elder brother of
Peter Pursell and uncle of the similarly named
Robert Wilson Pursell. He played in the
1914 FA Cup Final, but was banned for life for his part in the
1915 British football betting scandal. However his ban was lifted for his actions in
World War I
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 ...
, and he went on to play for
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 ...
, before retiring with a
broken leg in 1922.
Career
Queen's Park
Born in
Campbeltown
Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...
,
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
, Scotland, Pursell attended
Aberdeen University
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
before signing for
Queen's Park.
He scored on his
Scottish League Division One
The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...
debut for the "Spiders" on 28 August 1909, in a 2–2 draw with
Heart of Midlothian at
Hampden Park
Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...
.
He went on to make 33 appearances in the
1909–10 season, scoring two goals.
He scored two goals in 25 games throughout the
1910–11 campaign, which saw Queen's Park finish bottom of the division.
Liverpool
Pucell was signed by Liverpool
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 ...
Tom Watson in April 1911 – although Queen's Park were amateurs, Liverpool were subsequently fined £250 for not asking the club's permission before approaching Pursell.
A "cool and brainy full-back",
he made his
First Division debut a 2–1 victory over
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
at
Roker Park
Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland A.F.C. from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; ...
on 30 September 1911.
He made 26 appearances in
1911–12,
a disappointing season for the "Reds" which saw the club avoiding
relegation
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
from the top-flight by finishing a single point over
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 ...
, who went down with
Bury
Bury may refer to:
*The burial of human remains
*-bury, a suffix in English placenames
Places England
* Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village
* Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire
** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
. The following couple of seasons were to prove to be a testing time for Pursell as he failed to hold down a regular spot in the starting 11, he did, however, manage to play in all of Liverpool's eight cup ties, including the final, in their run to the
1914 FA Cup Final. The game was to be played in front on a reigning monarch for the first time as King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
was to attend the last cup final to be played at the
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
Park on 25 April 1914. The first appearance in the final for both Liverpool and opponents
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, the "Clarets" won the match 1–0 thanks to a
Bert Freeman
Bertram Clewley Freeman (1 October 1885 – 11 August 1955) was an English footballer. He played as a centre forward for clubs Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Burnley and Wigan Borough. Freeman was one of the most prolific goal-scorers of his tim ...
goal.
On 2 April 1915, Liverpool lost 2–0 to
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, Pursell giving away a
penalty
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
A p ...
, and the game was judged to be
fixed
Fixed may refer to:
* ''Fixed'' (EP), EP by Nine Inch Nails
* ''Fixed'', an upcoming 2D adult animated film directed by Genndy Tartakovsky
* Fixed (typeface), a collection of monospace bitmap fonts that is distributed with the X Window System
* ...
.
After an investigation by the Football League, Pursell and three teammates –
Tom Miller Tom Miller may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Tom Miller (broadcaster) (1940–1993), American radio personality and emcee
* Tom Miller (artist) (1945–2000), American artist
*Tom Miller (travel writer) (born 1947), travel writer from Tucson
* ...
,
Jackie Sheldon and
Tom Fairfoul, were banned from football for life.
The incident later became known as the '
1915 British football betting scandal', in what was the first major betting scandal to hit the sport. For his service in
World War I
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 ...
, Pursell's ban was lifted, allowing him to continue his career.
Pursell never broke into the Liverpool starting line-up, and was only selected twice during the
1919–20 season, both times at
Anfield
Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...
and both times against Liverpool's bitterest rivals, Man United 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 ...
1919 and
Everton the following day.
Pursell left Liverpool in May 1920, having made 112 appearances in all competitions for the "Reds".
Port Vale
He signed with
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 ...
, thereby joining his brother
Peter Pursell for the first time.
The two played alongside each other, and were so moved by a public plea by chairman Frank Huntbach for supporters to buy shares in the club that they each bought £5 worth of shares.
He made 38
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 ...
appearances in
1920–21.
The brothers hit their stride by 1922, allowing goalkeeper
Teddy Peers
Edward John Peers (31 December 1886 – 20 September 1935) was a Wales international football goalkeeper. He won 12 caps for Wales and spent 1911 to 1921 at Wolverhampton Wanderers and then January 1922 to May 1923 at Port Vale.
Career
Peers p ...
to be little more than a spectator as the club went on a run of seven games without conceding a goal.
However 29 appearances into the
1921–22 campaign, he
broke his leg in April 1922, causing his retirement the following month.
Career statistics
Source:
Honours
Liverpool
*
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 ...
runner-up:
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pursell, Bob
1889 births
1974 deaths
People from Campbeltown
Footballers from Argyll and Bute
Scottish men's footballers
Men's association football fullbacks
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Queen's Park F.C. players
Liverpool F.C. players
British military personnel of World War I
Port Vale F.C. players
Scottish Football League players
English Football League players
Sportspeople involved in betting scandals