Bobby Black (c.1927 – 4 June 2012) 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 ...

from

Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway Thornhill ( gd, Bàrr na Driseig Archived frothe original on 5 March 2014) is a village in the Mid Nithsdale area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, south of Sanquhar and north of Dumfries on the main A76 road. Thornhill sits in the Nithsdale ...

who played for East Fife and Queen of the South and was also capped by the Scottish League. Black later was an all England

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

champion.

East Fife

Having played at East Fife during undoubtedly the best period in the club's history Black won a League Cup medal with them in 1949–50. The

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

side made the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Tommy Adams and

Willie Laird Willie Laird was a Scottish association football player, best known for his time with East Fife before and after the Second World War. Willie Laird joined East Fife in 1937, signing from East Stirlingshire. He debuted for the Fifers in November ...

and players who played for Scotland while with the club, Allan Brown, Henry Morris, George Aitken,

Davie Duncan David Millar Duncan (21 November 1921 – 11 January 1991) was a Scottish international footballer who played in the successful East Fife post war team, when they enjoyed creditable league and cup success. Duncan was capped three times for Sc ...

Charlie Fleming Charles Fleming (12 July 1927 – 14 August 1997) was a Scottish footballer who played for Blairhall Colliery, East Fife, Sunderland and the Scotland national team. Fleming was nicknamed 'Cannonball Charlie' for his shooting ability, and is Ba ...

and

Andy Matthew Andy Matthew (1932–1992) was a Scottish footballer who played in the successful East Fife post war team which enjoyed creditable league and cup success. Matthew was selected once for Scotland in 1954 to play against The British Army. Howev ...

Jimmy Philp James Morgan Philp (20 November 1913 – March 1998) was a Scottish footballer, who played for St Bernards, Heart of Midlothian, East Fife and Brechin City. Career Philp was born in Lumphinnans. His first club was Edinburgh side St Bernards ...

was another like Black who enjoyed

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

success with the

club. From his first year playing for East Fife, the 1946-47 season, until his departure in 1952, Black scored 23 goals in 78 league matches.

Queen of the South

In 1952, Black signed for his local senior club Queen of the South in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

. Black departed the

club in 1961 after 346 appearances and 120 goals scored. Black is the third highest all-time goalscorer for the club, behind Jim Patterson with 251 goals and Stephen Dobbie with 166 goals. Under the management of

Jimmy McKinnell Junior James McKinnell Jr. (1902 – 1995) was long-time secretary and manager with Scottish Football League club Queen of the South from Dumfries.

at Queens, a large part of Black's career at Queens included a large part of the most successful period in the club's history. Also at Queens at this time were goalkeeper Roy Henderson, full backs

Dougie Sharpe Dougie Sharpe (1926–1974) was a Scottish footballer who played for Queen of the South from the town of Dumfries. Early years Dougie Sharpe was a native of New Abbey. He played for St Michael's Primary School team in Dumfries and then Dumfrie ...

and

Jimmy Binning James Binning (21 December 1922 – 1991) was a Scottish footballer who played for Arbroath and Dumfries side Queen of the South. Career From the season 1948–1949 until his departure, Binning scored six goals in his 84 league games for Arbro ...

and the club's record scorer Jim Patterson with 251 goals. Consistent mid-table finishes in the top division in the early and mid 1950s peaked with a sixth-place finish in 1956 – a finish surpassed only once in the club's history. Queen's were subsequently relegated to the Scottish Second Division in 1959. Bobby Black's displays at outside right were recognised at international level when he was capped for the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

versus the

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

in Dublin in 1954 and notched two goals in a 3–1 victory. Black's son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, played for the ''Doonhamers'' between 1971 and 1973 making 35 appearances and scored four goals. Bobby's other son, Russell was also a footballer, playing for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

. In his two seasons with the ''Shaymen'' he scored 14 goals in 72 league appearances. Black's grandson Jamie Paterson was also a footballer who played for Scunthorpe United,

and

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

in the senior ranks and with Barrow in non-league football. Black played his entire career wearing the same pair of football boots. Black's preference was to have his boots repaired rather than replacing them and his football boots are now on display in the Doonhamers Museum at

Palmerston Park Palmerston Park is a football stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Queen of the South, who have played there since 1919. South of Scotland League club He ...

Later years

After leaving Queen of the South Black played non-league football for

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

and Bridgwater Town in England. In his later years he lived in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

until he died on 4 June 2012 aged 85. Black's great-grandson is

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

striker Denny Johnstone.

External links

Bobby Black football and bowls career profile on the Queen of the South official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Bobby 1920s births People from Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway Scottish footballers Queen of the South F.C. players East Fife F.C. players Association football wingers 2012 deaths Bridgwater Town F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Football League representative players Bath City F.C. players Footballers from Dumfries and Galloway Date of birth missing