Robert Blood (18 March 1894 – 12 August 1988) was an English

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 as a

centre-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and was noted for his powerful strikes. He played

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for various teams based around

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

, and served in the Army for three years during

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 ...

, before he started his professional career after signing 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 ...

in November 1919. He scoring 44 goals in 53

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 ...

games and earned himself a £4,750 move to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

in February 1921. He scored 26 goals in 53 First Division games, before moving on to

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional association football, football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they wer ...

for a £3,000 fee in December 1924. Three years later he signed for non-League

Winsford United Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...

, later turning out for

Mossley Mossley (/ˈmɒzli/) is a town and civil parish in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, in the upper Tame Valley and the foothills of the Pennines, southeast of Oldham and east of Manchester. The historic counties of Lancashire, Cheshire ...

, Ashton National and

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

Career

Early years and military service

Robert Blood was born on 18 March 1894 in

Harpur Hill Harpur Hill is a small village on the outskirts of Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is in the Cote Heath ward of the High Peak Borough Council. It has a primary school, a park, a pub, a working men's club and a Methodist church. From 1938 to 19 ...

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

; he was the youngest of ten children to John and Maria Blood, a quarry worker and housewife respectively. He followed his father and brothers to work in the Hoffman Quarry, and played

for

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

and Buxton Lime Firms. He made his debut for Leek Alexandra on 13 September 1913, and playing at outside-left scored one of Leek's six goals past

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

. He scored 40 goals to help the club to win the North Staffordshire League, Staffordshire Junior Cup and Hanley Cup in the 1914–15 campaign, with six of his goals coming in one game against

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...

. In March 1915, he volunteered to serve the 16th Battalion

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

. On 5 June 1916, he was injured during a raid on the

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

Front, and nearly lost his leg. Upon his recovery he was drafted into the 7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters and returned to France in March 1917. He also represented British Army in football matches against Belgium and France, and won both the Divisional Cup and the Brigade Cup with the 7th Sherwood Foresters. He rose to the rank of

Sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...

and returned to Buxton after the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

declared victory on 11 November 1918, and, determined to become professional footballer, managed to strengthen his leg by spending many hours kicking a ball against a steep slope next to Harpur Hill cemetery. He returned to Leek Alexandra, and played at centre-forward, scoring 11 goals in the first two months of the 1919–20 season, putting five goals past Goldenhill Wanderers and another four past Stafford Rangers.

Port Vale

Blood signed with

for a £50 fee in November 1919 after impressing on trial the previous year. His war service left him with a hole in his right leg, as well as having one leg shorter than the other, doctors said he was not fit enough to play professional football, though the management at

The Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad conditio ...

felt otherwise. In the 1919–20 season he finished as top-scorer with 26 goals in 32 games – a remarkable feat for a 25-year-old newcomer to 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 ...

still carrying the scars of war. He scored twice in games against

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

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 ...

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

(both home and away); hit a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

past

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

; and put four past

Rotherham County Rotherham County F.C. was an English football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. They spent a number of years in the English Football League before merging with rivals Rotherham Town in 1925 to form Rotherham United. History The club w ...

on 28 February. He continued his goal scoring feats in the 1920–21 season with 20 goals in 26 games. He scored against

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

in the

Potteries derby In Football in England, English football, the Potteries derby is the List of sports rivalries, local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Stoke-on-Trent – Port Vale F.C., Port Vale and Stoke City F.C., Stoke City, first contested i ...

, and hit braces against Nottingham Forest,

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

, Clapton Orient, and Bury; also putting four past Stockport County on 11 December. He demonstrated the fearsome power of his

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *''Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 fi ...

by striking 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) * Penalty ...

which was saved by the Bristol City goalkeeper at the cost of a

broken wrist In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as (1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand; "The wrist contains eight bones, roughly aligned in two rows, known as the carpal ...

. A Stockport player who

headed Headed may refer to: *A headed phrase, in linguistics * Headed notepaper See also * * Head (disambiguation) The head is the part of an animal or human that usually includes the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Head or Heads may also refer to: ...

the ball off the line to save a Blood shot had to be taken off the field with

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

West Bromwich Albion

secretary-

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 ...

Fred Everiss Fred Everiss (1882–1951) was secretary-manager of the English football club West Bromwich Albion for 46 years from 1902 to 1948, later serving the club as a director after retirement in 1948. Everiss led Albion to the League Title in the 1919 ...

signed him in February 1921 for £4,750, then a club record fee. Vale fans were outraged at the sale, though Blood was informed that the club's financial situation meant that either " ewent or the club". The move took Blood from the

into the First Division. Albion finished comfortably in mid-table in 1920–21, 1921–22, and 1922–23, though Blood would primarily serve the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

, acquiring a

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

medal and scoring 73 goals in 72 Central League games. Blood finished as the club's top-scorer in 1923–24 with nine goals, ending the season with a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory over

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 ...

Later career

Blood was signed by Fred Scotchbrook's

for a £3,000 fee in December 1924. He scored seven goals in 25 Second Division games during the 1924–25 campaign, though his eight goals in 16 league matches could not prevent County suffering

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. ...

in last place in 1925–26. After spending 1926–27 in the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

, he moved on to

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footba ...

side

. He moved on to league rivals

in 1928, scoring six goals in 17 league games. He then

transfer Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

ed to Ashton National Gas, before returning to Buxton in 1930. He later

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

ed young talent for West Bromwich Albion.

Style of play

Blood had good footballing intelligence and distribution skills, but his greatest skill was his tremendously powerful shots.

Personal life

He married Lily Mellor in 1922. Their only child, Robert, died within three hours of his birth on 9 October 1924.

Career statistics

Source:

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blood, Bobby Military personnel from Derbyshire English men's footballers Footballers from Buxton Men's association football forwards Buxton F.C. players Sherwood Foresters soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Port Vale F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Winsford United F.C. players Mossley A.F.C. players Ashton National F.C. players English Football League players Association football scouts West Bromwich Albion F.C. non-playing staff 1894 births 1988 deaths