Robert McDicker Bell (16 September 1934 – March 2007) 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 ...

who played as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He played in the

Scottish football league system The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs. The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gr ...

for Falkirk and

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

, before spending the majority of his playing career at English Football League club

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

. He later moved into English

amateur football Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competing ...

, first as a player, and later as a coach and manager.

Playing career

Born in the Scottish town of

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

on September 16, 1934, Bell played in Scottish Junior Football for Whitletts Victoria, and also for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during his national service. Bell turned professional in August 1954 when he signed for Scottish Football League side Falkirk.Jones p. 38 Manager

Bob Shankly Robert Fleming Blyth Shankly (25 February 1910 – 5 May 1982) was a professional football player and manager from the village of Glenbuck in Ayrshire, Scotland. He was the elder brother to Bill Shankly the former Liverpool manager. Bob Shankl ...

selected Bell for one league game, before releasing him on a free transfer at the end of the 1955–56 season.

manager Neil McBain signed Bell, fielding him 15 times in the league. When McBain rejoined

in August 1956, he signed several former Ayr players, including Bell.Jones p. 268 Bell became a regular first team player at Watford, and along with Cliff Holton helped Watford gain promotion to the Third Division in 1959–60, for the first time in their history. Other teammates of Bell during this period included Sammy Chung, Freddie Bunce and Dennis Uphill. Watford achieved a 4th-placed league finish in 1961, and 3rd position in 1964. The arrival of

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

Ken Furphy Kenneth Furphy (28 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an English football player and manager. Despite being on the books at Everton between 1950 and 1951, Furphy was a lower league player with Runcorn (1951–53) Darlington (1953–62) and th ...

in 1964 signalled the end of Bell's Watford career; Furphy was also a full back, and selected himself in preference to Bell. After spending most of the 1964–65 season in Watford's reserves, Bell joined non-league Folkestone on a free transfer in July 1965, later playing for

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

Later life

Following his retirement from professional football, Bell worked for aircraft engine manufacturer

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

. He played for the company's football team, and managed them from 1979 until 1981. He later coached several English amateur sides, including Leverstock Green and Mill End, and also managed in Sunday league football in the 1990s. He died in 2007.

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Bobby 1934 births 2007 deaths Footballers from Ayr Scottish men's footballers Scottish Football League players English Football League players Falkirk F.C. players Ayr United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Folkestone F.C. players Wealdstone F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks