Robert Ferguson (born 1 March 1945) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.

Football career

Kilmarnock

Born in Ardrossan, Ferguson came through Willie Waddell's

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

youth system in the early 1960s. Ferguson took over in the first-team following an injury to

Campbell Forsyth Robert Campbell Forsyth (5 May 193415 November 2020) was a Scottish footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Southampton. He also made four international appearances for Scotland, all in 1964. Football career Earl ...

in 1964–65. He retained the goalkeeper's shirt for the remainder of the season, playing eight games and keeping four

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s. In 1964–65

Heart of Midlothian F.C. Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the Sco ...

fought out a championship title race with Waddell's Kilmarnock. In the era of two points for a win Hearts were three points clear with two games remaining. Hearts drew with Dundee United meaning the last game of the season with the two title challengers playing each other at Tynecastle would be a league decider. Kilmarnock needed to win by a two-goal margin to take the title. Hearts entered the game as favourites with both a statistical and home advantage. They also had a solid pedigree of trophy winning under Walker. Waddell's Kilmarnock in contrast had been nearly men. Four times in the previous five seasons they had finished league runners-up including Hearts' triumph in 1960. Killie had also lost three domestic cup finals during the same period including the 1962 League Cup Final defeat to Hearts. Hearts had won five of the six senior cup finals they played in under Walker. Even the final they had lost was in a replay after drawing the first game. Hearts' Roald Jensen hit the post after six minutes. Kilmarnock then scored twice through Davie Sneddon and Brian McIlroy after 27 and 29 minutes. Alan Gordon had an excellent chance to clinch the title for Hearts in second half injury time but was denied by a Ferguson diving save pushing the ball past the post. The 2–0 defeat meant Hearts lost the title by an average of 0.042 goals. Subsequently, Hearts were instrumental in pushing through a change to use goal difference to separate teams level on points. Ironically this rule change later denied Hearts the title in 1985–86. This is the only time to date Killie's have been Scottish champions. Ferguson went on to make 73 league appearances for the club. During his time with Kilmarnock he won seven caps for Scotland.

West Ham United including Sheffield Wednesday loan

Ferguson was transferred east London club West Ham United for a fee of £65,000 in 1967, which at the time was a world record fee for a goalkeeper. He made his Hammers debut against Sheffield Wednesday on 19 August 1967, the first game of the 1967–68 season. Despite having to compete for the number one

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. I ...

with Peter Grotier and Mervyn Day, Ferguson still managed 276 appearances during his 13 years at West Ham. He spent time with Sheffield Wednesday on loan in 1973, making five appearances for them. The signing of Phil Parkes in February 1979 ultimately meant the end of his career at West Ham. He played his last game for the Upton Park club in a 2–1 defeat on 14 November 1979 against Chelsea, and left in 1980. He received a testimonial match in 1981, against Southampton, for which he earned £20,000. He also played reserve team football for West Ham as a winger.

Adelaide City

In 1981 Ferguson emigrated to Australia. He played with Adelaide City for one year and then coached the club the following year. He later coached with Vacation Soccer Schools and Burnside Rugby Club.

Career after football

In 1982, he ran a diving firm for six years, but gave up when a colleague was attacked by a shark.

Honours

;

* Scottish league champions: 1964–65

References

External links

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Bobby Ferguson
at westhamstats.info {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Bobby 1945 births Adelaide City FC players Association football goalkeepers Kilmarnock F.C. players Living people Footballers from North Ayrshire Scotland international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish footballers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players English Football League players West Ham United F.C. players National Soccer League (Australia) players Scottish Football League representative players Scotland under-23 international footballers People from Ardrossan Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Scottish expatriate footballers Association football goalkeeping coaches