John William Robinson (22 April 1870 – 28 October 1931) was a professional

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 lea ...

who played for, among others,

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Football career

Robinson was born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and began playing football for local sides Derby St Neots and Derby Midland before moving to Lincoln City in 1888. After helping the Imps win the

Midland Football League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an England, English association football, football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the form ...

in 1890 he returned to his hometown and signed for

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

side

. Robinson spent six seasons at Derby, making over 180 appearances, and was a key player in their 1895–96 campaign which saw them finish as runner-up to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. He left Derby in 1897 and spent a season with

New Brighton Tower New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

before joining South Coast club

. He enjoyed a successful time with Southampton helping them to dominate the Southern League at the turn of the 20th century. As goalkeeper, Robinson was instrumental in a string of victories over top-flight sides in the F A Cup during this period, especially in getting to the 1900 FA Cup final where infighting over the selection of an out of form English forward over the in-form

Roddy McLeod Roderick McLeod (12 February 1872 – 20 December 1931) was a Scottish professional footballer who was part of the West Bromwich Albion team which won the FA Cup in 1892 and was a losing finalist in 1895. Playing career West Bromwich Albion McL ...

of Scotland led to fighting between the English and Scottish factions and ultimately led to a very disjointed team performance and a heavy defeat. Robinson was noted, during his playing career, for his reliability and was, according to author Francis Hodgson, among the first goalkeepers to dive full length to make saves. Touring eastern Europe with Southampton, Robinson played a notable role in introducing modern goalkeeping techniques to Austria and Hungary. In Prague, Southampton beat local Slavia 3–0 and Robinson's novel goalkeeping style of diving saves gave rise to the Czech term, "robinsonáda".

Gyula Grosics Gyula Grosics (; 4 February 1926 – 13 June 2014) was a Hungarian football goalkeeper who played 86 times for the Hungary national football team and was part of the "Golden Team" of the 1950s. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all ...

, the Hungarian international of the 1950s, observed that "it was

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

of the Corinthians, Robinson, and many other world-famous England goalkeepers who have been the pioneers of this art, and they showed the way for all Europe's goalkeepers."

Hugo Meisl Hugo Meisl (16 November 1881 – 17 February 1937), brother of the journalist Willy Meisl, was the multi-lingual football coach of the famous Austrian ' Wunderteam' of the early 1930s, as well as a referee. Background Meisl was born to a Jewi ...

, the noted coach of the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

"Wunderteam" of the 1930s, went further, recalling: :"In that year (1899) the first English professionals came over, Southampton F.C. They beat the Viennese city eleven 6–0 and their goalkeeper, Robinson, showed for the first time how to tackle low shots by flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Until this day (1930) that type of save is called a 'Robinsonade' in Austria and Central Europe. After the match, Robinson gave an exhibition. His goal was bombarded simultaneously with six balls and he blocked most of the shots." Robinson left Southampton in 1903 and went on to play for fellow Southern League clubs

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

and

Stoke Stoke may refer to: Places Canada * Stoke, Quebec New Zealand * Stoke, New Zealand United Kingdom Berkshire * Stoke Row Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stoke Gifford * Bradley Stoke * Little Stoke * Harry Stoke * Stoke Lodge Bucking ...

Professional baseball

In 1890 Robinson played professional baseball for

Derby Baseball Club Derby Baseball Club is a defunct professional baseball club from Derby England, formed as Ley's Recreation Club by Francis Ley in 1890 and dissolved in the same year. A new Derby Baseball Club was formed (with Ley as chairman) in 1890 to succeed ...

in the National League of Baseball of Great Britain. Robinson played alongside

Steve Bloomer Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played a ...

and helped them become British champions twice in the 1890s.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

Source:

Honours

Footballer

Derby County *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

runners-up: 1895–96 Southampton *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

finalists:

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's ...

* Southern League champions: 1898–99, 1900–01, 1902–03 England * British champions: 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903 (shared)

Baseball player

Derby County * British Champions: 1895, 1897

Footnotes

* According to the Southampton F.C. histories, the club's first tour of Europe was in April 1901. Among their opponents on that tour were Vienna Cricket & Football Club, who were defeated 7–0 and a Vienna Combined XI who were defeated 8–0.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*
Robinson and baseballRobinson at Plymouth Argyle fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Jack 1870 births 1931 deaths Footballers from Derby English men's footballers England men's international footballers English Football League players English baseball players Southern Football League players Western Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers Derby Midland F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players New Brighton Tower F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Green Waves F.C. players