Robert Denholm "Bobby" Baxter (born 4 February 1937) is an English former professional

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 ...

born in

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdivision had a population of ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, who 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

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, Brighton & Hove Albion and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. He is the son and namesake of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

footballer Bobby Baxter.

Career

Baxter began his career by signing a professional contract on joining

in November 1959. He began his professional career as a forward and was Darlington's top scorer for two seasons. After playing 64 league games and scoring 30 times he moved to Brighton & Hove Albion in June 1961 with Dennis Windross moving in the opposite direction. He had to wait until 25 November that year for his Brighton debut, at the Goldstone Ground against

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 ...

. At Brighton he was converted to a wing half or full-back, and eventually made 195 league appearances, scoring six times, before moving to

in July 1967. He immediately settled into the Torquay first team at the start of the season, but lost his place when

Bill Kitchener William Harry Kitchener (born 3 November 1946) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for West Ham United, Torquay United and AFC Bournemouth. Career Born in Arlesey, Kitchener began his career as an app ...

was signed on loan from West Ham United. Early in the following season, Kitchener signed permanently for Torquay and Baxter again lost his place. However, Baxter regained his place in the first team when Kitchener was switched to the centre of defence after the career-ending injury received by Torquay defender Alan Smith. After appearing in 62 league games (scoring six goals) for the Gulls, Baxter returned to Darlington in July 1969, playing just one further season in the football league before joining non-league Plymouth City in July 1970. In September 2001, Baxter, still a Torbay resident, returned to

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

as a match summariser for BBC Radio for the game between Torquay and

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Bobby 1937 births Living people Sportspeople from Redcar English men's footballers Darlington F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from North Yorkshire Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football inside forwards English people of Scottish descent