Robert Fleming Archibald (6 November 1894 – 27 November 1966) was a footballer who played in the Football League for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

and

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

. Archibald played for a number of Scottish clubs before joining

in 1925. He helped Stoke win the Football League Third Division North in 1926–27 and became a consistent performer for Stoke at outside-left. He racked up 276 appearances for Stoke in seven seasons and he scored 40 goals. He ended his career with

and later became an insurance agent in Glasgow and a scout for Bradford City.

Early life and family

Archibald was born in Larkhall, the son of John Archibald, a baker, and Elizabeth (''née'' Hamilton). His younger brother Jock was also a footballer.

Career

Archibald played for

Rutherglen Glencairn Rutherglen Glencairn Football Club is a Scottish football (soccer), football club based in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow. Nicknamed ''The Glens'' and formed in 1896, they play at The Hamish B Allan Stadium (New Southcroft Park). G ...

, Albion Rovers, Third Lanark before joining Aberdeen in 1914. During World War I he played for

Rangers A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

and his army regiment in France and Denmark. On 25 August 1925 at the age of 29 he joined English side

and made a fine impression scoring on his debut against Stockport County on the opening day of the 1925–26, but a new look Stoke side failed to gel together and the side agonisingly slipped towards relegation to the Third Division. Archibald was a small player at just 5 ft 4in tall and weighing just 10 stone, His physique enabled him to become a fast player and his skill on the wings marked him out as one of the few class acts in the side relegated from the Second Division for the first time. He was renowned for his consistency, from his debut he played 58 consecutive matches before pulling a muscle against Rochdale in November 1927 and missed just six matches in the next six seasons. His fine footwork proved to be too much for Third Division full backs as he set up numerous chances for

Charlie Wilson Charles, Charlie, Charley, or Chuck Wilson may refer to: Entertainment * Charles Heath Wilson (1809–1882), Anglo-Scottish painter, art teacher and author * Charles C. Wilson (1894–1948), American film actor * Charles Banks Wilson (1918–2013) ...

to score his 25 goals as Stoke won the Football League Third Division North title. After six years of fine service he was awarded a

benefit Benefit or benefits may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Benefit'' (album), by Jethro Tull, 1970 * "Benefits" (''How I Met Your Mother''), a 2009 TV episode * ''The Benefit'', a 2012 Egyptian action film Businesses and organisation ...

match, he chose the final home match of the 1930–31 season against West Bromwich Albion. The second highest crowd of the season, 26,064 paid £1,540 6s 2d to bid farewell to Archibald. He spent one more season at the Victoria Ground during which the now 38-year-old lost his place to Harold Taylor. Once manager Tom Mather had brought in Joe Johnson in April 1932 he allowed Archibald to join

. He played just eight matches for the "Tykes" and after spending several seasons in the reserves he retired in May 1937 at the age of 42.

Personal life

At the end of his career he returned to his native Glasgow where he became an insurance agent and scouted from time to time for Bradford City manager

Fred Westgarth Fred Westgarth (July 1887 in South Shields, England – 4 February 1957) was an English footballer though he is more renowned for his role as a manager. Career Westgarth was a successful football coach after a playing career achieved little of ...

. Archibald was a very modern man for his generation who always required the latest gadget; he would constantly use his wireless set in the dressing room for hours and was one of the few Stoke players to own his own car. Archibald died at his home in

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

of lung cancer in 1966, age 72.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

;Stoke City * Football League Third Division North Champions: 1926–27

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald, Bobby 1894 births 1966 deaths Scottish footballers Rutherglen Glencairn F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players Third Lanark A.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Dumbarton F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Hibernian F.C. players Rangers F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Association football outside forwards Scottish Junior Football Association players British Army personnel of World War I Deaths from lung cancer in Scotland Footballers from South Lanarkshire Sportspeople from Larkhall