Neil Robinson (20 April 1957 – 24 November 2022) 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 defender or

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Everton,

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

Career

Robinson was born the youngest of a family of seven children (six boys, one girl), just 100 yards away from Everton Football Club's ground,

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

, (in Spellow Lane,

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada *Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdom ...

Liverpool). He began his football career as an apprentice professional at Everton FC in April 1973, aged 16. He signed as a full-time professional for Everton one year later in April 1974. Robinson scored his only goal for Everton at Goodison Park in the last game of the 1977–78 season beating Chelsea 6–0. Robinson became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

at age 13 in 1970 and in 1980, age 23, he became a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

and was reportedly the first vegan footballer to have played professionally. In the 1981–82 season he became the first vegan to score in a top-flight match. Robinson was the Grimsby Town Player of the Year for 1985–86.

Personal life and death

Robinson was the youngest brother of

Sir Ken Robinson Sir Ken Robinson (4 March 1950 – 21 August 2020) was a British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies. He was director of the Arts in Schools Project (1985 ...

. He married his wife, Pauline, on 31 January 1978 and they had three children, including former professional footballer Neil David Robinson. He died from sudden cardiac arrest on 24 November 2022, at the age of 65.

References

1957 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Liverpool English footballers Everton F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Association football defenders Association football midfielders People from Walton, Liverpool {{England-footy-midfielder-1950s-stub