Alexander Robertson (December 1860 – 1927) 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 in the

English Football 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 Engl ...

for

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. Having earlier played in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

for St Bernard's, also making several appearances for the regional representative team, Robertson made his League and Preston North End debut on 8 September 1888 at wing–half against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...

; Preston won 5–2. Sandy Robertson's first League goal was scored on 29 September 1888 at County Ground, in a 3–2 win for Preston North End over

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

; he scored Preston's opener when they were trailing 2–1. Robertson appeared in 21 of Preston' 22 League Championship matches and scored three goals, and won a Championship winners medal. He only played one

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

tie in 1888–89, in the First Round. The following season Robertson could not hold down a regular place in the side. North End retained the title and felt they could manage without the Scotsman so he was released. He played eight games (seven League and one FA Cup) in his last season. He moved to

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

in 1890 and played for the club until he left in 1892. Robertson died in 1927 aged 66/67. (registration & fee required)

References

Scottish footballers Preston North End F.C. players English Football League players 1860 births 1927 deaths Footballers from Edinburgh Date of birth missing Date of death missing Association football midfielders St Bernard's F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1860s-stub