William Robertson (8 April 1874 – after 1904) 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 lea ...

who played for

Abercorn Abercorn ( Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a ...

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

between 1894 and 1903.

Life and career

Robertson was born in

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

, Scotland. He played football for Renfrew Victoria before joining

in 1894. Robertson joined English

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

club

in February 1896, and played eight times before the team were relegated at the end of the season. Having started his career as an

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

, he had more success after a switch to

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, and made more than 100 appearances in all competitions for the club. According to the ''Bristol Mercury'', writing when Robertson first joined

in 1899, "Last season he was looked upon as the best half in the Small Heath team." While a Bristol Rovers player, in March 1900, Robertson took part in the

Home Scots v Anglo-Scots Home Scots v Anglo-Scots was an annual association football trial match organised by the Scottish Football Association between the 1890s and 1920s to examine the abilities of possible players for upcoming full British Home Championship internationa ...

trial match, alongside namesakes Tom Robertson and

Tommy Robertson Thomas Robertson (17 October 1876 – 13 August 1941) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside left. He was part of the Heart of Midlothian team that won the Scottish league title in 1897. He also played for Liverpool between 1898 a ...

. He later played for

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

Notes

References

1874 births Year of death missing Footballers from Dumbarton Scottish men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Men's association football wing halves Abercorn F.C. players Renfrew Victoria F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players English Football League players Southern Football League players Place of death missing 19th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-midfielder-1870s-stub