David A. Roberts 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

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

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

and in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

for

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

and Fordsons during the 1920s.

Playing career

English career

Roberts was born in

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. He spent two seasons with Birmingham & District League club

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. Described as a "thrustful" player, he was Shrewsbury's top scorer before joining

of 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 ...

at the end of the 1921–22 season. He scored freely for 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 ...

, but when he got a chance in the first team, he had little success. He made his

debut on 16 September 1922, playing at

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

away to

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. According to the ''

Sheffield Daily Telegraph The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' is a weekly newspaper published in Sheffield, England. Founded in 1855 as the ''Sheffield Daily Telegraph'', it became known as the ''Sheffield Telegraph'' in 1938. History The ''Sheffield Telegraph'' was founded i ...

'', "both in attack and defence the middle line was streets below Third Division standard, and although Archer and Roberts (the old Shrewsbury Town player) tried hard to get the attack going, they received very little support", as Walsall lost 6–0. Roberts played twice more in Third Division matches before moving to Ireland.

Bohemians

Roberts joined

during the 1922–23 campaign, and finished as the

's top scorer in 1923–24 season. His 20 goals in 17 appearances helped Bohs win their first ever League title, which included a run of 15 successive league wins. Other members of the team included

Bertie Kerr Herbert William Joseph Kerr (19 October 1896 – 23 November 1973), also known as Bertie Kerr or Bert Kerr, was an Irish association football player during the 1910s and 1920s. Kerr played for Bohemians, the League of Ireland XI and Irelan ...

, Johnny McIlroy, Billy Otto,

Christy Robinson Christopher "Christy" Robinson (1902 – 21 February 1954) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish soccer player during the 1920s and 1930s. Robinson was a skilful inside forward during this era in the League of Ireland and was part of the All-Conq ...

, Jack McCarthy and

Johnny Murray Johnny Murray (25 February 1898 – 12 November 1954) was an Irish soccer player during the 1920s. Murray was a skilful winger who played for Ormeau, Blue Crusaders, Bohemians and Drumcondra F.C. He joined Bohs in 1921 and stayed at Dalymount ...

. In all competitions during the 1923–24 season, Roberts scored 25 goals in 27 games. In 1925, Roberts was sentenced to a month's imprisonment for desertion of his family, failing to pay a maintenance order and leaving his two children chargeable to the

Poor Law Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

Fordsons

Roberts played for Fordsons during the 1925–26 and 1926–27 seasons, scoring 20 goals in League competition, and helped them win the 1925–26 Free State Cup. In the final Roberts scored the opening goal, a header from a free kick, as Fordsons beat

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

3–2.

League of Ireland XI

Roberts played three times for 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 ...

. While a Bohemians player, he scored twice in a 3–3 draw with a

Welsh League XI The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leagu ...

on 9 February 1924 at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. In March 1925 he also played in a 2–1 defeat against the same opponents. His teammates while playing in these games included fellow Bohs players

, Johnny McIlroy,

and

as well as Frank Collins and

John Joe Flood John Joe Flood, also referred to as Jonjo Flood or John Flood, was an Irish footballer who played as a forward for Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers, Leeds United and Crystal Palace. As an international, he also played for and captained the Irish Fre ...

Honours

Bohemians *

: 1923–24 Fordsons * Free State Cup: 1925–26 Individual *

League of Ireland Top Scorer A list of League of Ireland top scorers. A Division ;Notes Premier Division First Division ;Notes All–Time ;Notes References {{League of Ireland Top Ireland Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulst ...

: 1923–24 (20 goals)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Dave Year of birth missing Year of death missing Sportspeople from Tipton Association football forwards English footballers Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Bohemian F.C. players Fordsons F.C. players English Football League players League of Ireland players League of Ireland XI players