Bob Brocklebank (8 April 1908 – September 1981) 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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. He played for Aston Villa and

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, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, where he was top goalscorer in 1937-38 before becoming a manager, at Chesterfield,

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...

and

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. ...

Playing career

Brocklebank was born in Finchley, England as one of eight brothers. He started his football career as an amateur with his hometown team Finchley, in the London League. In May 1929 he signed for Aston Villa. His chances were limited at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

, and he signed for

during the 1935–36 season where he developed into an

inside right 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 ...

earning the nickname ''The Toff'' because of his gentlemanly approach to life and football. Brocklebank made 121 appearances for Burnley, scoring 33 goals. During the 1937–38 he was the club's top goalscorer with 14 goals. He continued to play at Burnley throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Managerial career

Brocklebank became Chesterfield manager in September 1945. He established the club in Division Two before he joined

in February 1949. The club was relegated in 1949–50 into Division Two. Brocklebank began to rebuild the side but resigned in 1954 just six months before they were promoted back to the top flight. He worked as a scout for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

from October 1954 to March 1955 until he was appointed manager at

. He again suffered relegation in his first full season as Hull finished bottom of Division Two in 1955–56. He took Hull back up three years later from the newly formed

Division Three The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the fo ...

. Hull were relegated the following season. Brocklebank resigned in May 1961 because he was frustrated at being unable to guide them straight back up. Instead he joined

to take over from Peter Jackson as manager. His reign at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they ...

was topsy-turvy. He guided the club to fifth-place finishes in 1961–62 and 1963–64 but City had had to apply for re-election in the season between the promotion pushes. The club's directors extended Brocklebank's contract in July 1964 for another two years, but three months later, disillusioned by a poor start, Brocklebank resigned.

Death

He retired to Brixham where he died in September 1981, aged 73.

References

External links

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Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocklebank, Bob 1908 births 1981 deaths People from Brixham Footballers from Finchley Aston Villa F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. managers Bradford City A.F.C. managers Burnley F.C. players Chesterfield F.C. managers English football managers English footballers Association football forwards Hull City A.F.C. managers