Richard Robinson (19 January 1927 – 19 April 2009) was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player from England. Robinson signed for Middlesbrough after being watched by their manager

David Jack David Bone Nightingale Jack (3 April 1898 – 10 September 1958) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward. He scored 267 goals from 490 appearances in the Football League playing for Plymouth Argyle, Bolton Wanderers and Arsena ...

. Jack had spotted Dicky playing for local team Marsden Welfare Juniors. Dicky played in the Colts for Middlesbrough and guested for Dunfermline Athletic, whilst working as a Bevin Boy in Scotland at the end of World War II. His debut for Middlesbrough was in the 1–0 away win against

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

on 7 October 1944 as a 17-year-old in wartime competition, and he played in Boro's first post-war game against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

aged 18. He went on to play a total of 390 games in the league and 26 in the FA Cup for Middlesbrough. He scored only one goal in his career – against local rivals

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. After the game, he travelled home on the Sunderland team bus! During his time at Middlesbrough, Dicky went on two FA tours with the England team to Switzerland, Portugal and Scandinavia, yet never gained a full cap. He was supposed to stand in for the injured

Neil Franklin Cornelius "Neil" Franklin (24 January 1922 – 9 February 1996) was an English footballer who played for Crewe Alexandra, Hull City, Stockport County and Stoke City as well as the England national team. Career Stoke City Franklin was ...

in England's 10–0 victory against Portugal in 1947, but Franklin declared himself fit 30 minutes before the start. Dicky also went on to gain the following

English 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 Englan ...

representative honours: *30 April 1947 English League v League of Ireland (Dublin) *22 October 1947 English League v Irish League (Windsor Park Belfast) *20 September 1948 English League v Irish League (Anfield) *29 November 1950 English League v Scottish League (Ibrox) *10 October 1951 English League v League of Ireland (Goodison Park) During his time at Middlesbrough, Dicky also won the Players 'Footballers Association' Golf Championship at Childwall, Southport in 1951, with his manager

acting as his caddy. The trophy was presented to him by Arthur Drury, the Football League Chairman. He transferred to

Barrow AFC Barrow Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. The club plays in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English league system. Since 1909, Barrow have played their home games at H ...

in 1959–60 season from Middlesbrough, where he continued to play, notching up another 151 league and FA Cup games, until injury forced him out of playing the game in 1963. He carried on from 1964 to 1969 as trainer for Barrow, and then retired from the game having played in a total of 567 league and cup games. Dicky died in April 2009, aged 82.Tributes paid to Fifties great Dicky Robinson
comeonboro.com (21 April 2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Dicky 1927 births 2009 deaths English men's footballers Middlesbrough F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players People from Whitburn, Tyne and Wear Footballers from Tyne and Wear Bevin Boys English Football League players English Football League representative players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. wartime guest players Men's association football defenders