Robert Edward Thorburn Stewart (7 October 1932 – 27 September 1992) was a Scottish 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 le ...

who played as a

right half 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 ...

, making nearly 150 appearances in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

. After retiring as a player, Stewart became a coach and was the original manager of the

Scotland women's national football team The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...

Career

Playing career

Stewart began his

career at

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. ...

in 1951, starting for Killie in the

1956–57 Scottish Cup The 1956–57 Scottish Cup was the 72nd staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Falkirk who defeated Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaː� ...

final and final replay defeat to

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

. Manager

Willie Waddell William Waddell (7 March 1921 – 14 October 1992) was a professional football player and manager. His only club in a 16-year career as a player in the outside right position (interrupted by World War II) was Rangers which yielded six major w ...

later tried to boost the team's forward line by handing Stewart an attacking position, but during the experiment his regular place at wing half was taken by

Frank Beattie Frank Whitfield Beattie (17 October 1933 – 19 November 2009) was a Scottish football player and manager. He spent his entire senior playing career with Kilmarnock, making 422 league appearances between 1954 and 1972. He was captain of Kil ...

. Stewart moved on to St Mirren, where he played in their

1961–62 Scottish Cup The 1961–62 Scottish Cup was the 77th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Rangers who defeated St Mirren in the final. First round Replays Second round Replays Third round Replay ...

final defeat, then

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

Coaching career

In November 1972, Stewart took charge of the

for the first ever official women's international match to take place in Britain, a 3–2 defeat to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Ravenscraig Stadium Ravenscraig Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. The stadium is primarily set up for athletics, with a running track, but it is also the traditional home of Greenock Juniors Football Club. The stadium underwen ...

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

References

1932 births 1992 deaths Association football wing halves Ayr United F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Scotland women's national football team managers Scottish Junior Football Association players Scottish Football League players Scottish football managers Scottish footballers St Mirren F.C. players Women's association football managers {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub