Robert Smyth McColl (13 April 1876 – 25 November 1959) was a Scottish
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
centre forward
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
.
Playing career
McColl started his career with junior club Benmore in 1892 and moved to
Queen's Park in 1894. He represented the
Scottish 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 sout ...
in 1901. He later played professionally in England for
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 ...
,
remaining on
Tyneside
Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt.
The population of Tyneside as published i ...
for three years until he came back to Glasgow in 1904 to play for
Rangers. He returned to Queen's Park in 1907, although the restoration of his amateur status had to be decided by the board of the club beforehand. McColl finished his football career in 1912, scoring 6 goals in his penultimate game against
Port Glasgow Athletic,
a Scottish scoring record which stands to the present day.
McColl played 13 games and scored 13 goals for the
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the t ...
and he was inducted into the
Scottish Football Hall of Fame
The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is located at the Scottish Football Museum. Nominations are made each year by fans and a committee selects the inductees. The first inductions to the Hall of Fame were in November 2004 in a ceremony at Hampden Par ...
in November 2011.
He is the only player to have scored a
hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three.
Origin
The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
against each of the other
home nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...
.
Personal life
McColl is now better known for lending his name to the newsagent chain
RS McColl
RS McColl, colloquially known as McColl's, is a Scottish newsagent company named after Robert Smyth McColl, who was a professional footballer. It was founded in 1901 by McColl and his brother Tom.
RS McColl is a trading name of McColl's, a s ...
, which he set up in 1901 with his brother Tom; due to this he became known as 'Toffee Bob'. He served as a
sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
in the
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...
during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
He is buried at
Cathcart Cemetery
Cathcart Cemetery is a cemetery in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, which was opened in 1876 . It is named after the nearby neighbourhood of Cathcart on the southern outskirts of Glasgow, but does not actually fall within the city boundaries, instea ...
in southern Glasgow.
McColl was your man for corners...
Lost Glasgow, 23 September 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022[Friends of Cathcart presents Footballers of Cathcart: one of Glasgow's Footballing Graveyards](_blank)
''Football Makes Glasgow'' via YouTube, 11 January 2022
Career statistics
International
:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McColl goal.''
See also
* List of Scotland national football team hat-tricks
alt=A head and upper shoulders shot of a statue of a footballer, Denis Law, who scored three hat tricks for Scotland, pictured here in a statue outside Old Trafford.
Since Scotland national football team, Scotland's first international associat ...
References
External links
Glasgow Evening Times article with mention of Robert Smyth McColl
The Guardian article with mention of RS McColl
{{DEFAULTSORT:McColl, Robert Smyth
1876 births
Scottish footballers
Scotland international footballers
Rangers F.C. players
Newcastle United F.C. players
Queen's Park F.C. players
1959 deaths
Association football forwards
Scottish Football Hall of Fame inductees
Scottish Football League players
Scottish Football League representative players
English Football League players
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Army Service Corps soldiers
Footballers from Glasgow
People from Springburn
People educated at Queen's Park Secondary School
Burials at Cathcart Cemetery