Robert Ferguson (born 1 March 1945) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Football career

Kilmarnock

Born in

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...

, Ferguson came through Willie Waddell's Kilmarnock youth system in the early 1960s. Ferguson took over in the first-team following an injury to Campbell Forsyth in 1964–65. He retained the goalkeeper's shirt for the remainder of the season, playing eight games and keeping four clean sheets. In 1964–65 Heart of Midlothian F.C. fought out a championship title race with Waddell's Kilmarnock. In the era of two points for a win Hearts were three points clear with two games remaining. Hearts drew with Dundee United meaning the last game of the season with the two title challengers playing each other at Tynecastle would be a league decider. Kilmarnock needed to win by a two-goal margin to take the title. Hearts entered the game as favourites with both a statistical and home advantage. They also had a solid pedigree of trophy winning under Walker. Waddell's Kilmarnock in contrast had been nearly men. Four times in the previous five seasons they had finished league runners-up including Hearts' triumph in 1960. Killie had also lost three domestic cup finals during the same period including the 1962 League Cup Final defeat to Hearts. Hearts had won five of the six senior cup finals they played in under Walker. Even the final they had lost was in a replay after drawing the first game. Hearts' Roald Jensen hit the post after six minutes. Kilmarnock then scored twice through Davie Sneddon and Brian McIlroy after 27 and 29 minutes. Alan Gordon had an excellent chance to clinch the title for Hearts in second half injury time but was denied by a Ferguson diving save pushing the ball past the post. The 2–0 defeat meant Hearts lost the title by an average of 0.042 goals. Subsequently, Hearts were instrumental in pushing through a change to use goal difference to separate teams level on points. Ironically this rule change later denied Hearts the title in 1985–86. This is the only time to date Killie's have been Scottish champions. Ferguson went on to make 73 league appearances for the club. During his time with Kilmarnock he won seven caps for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

West Ham United including Sheffield Wednesday loan

Ferguson was transferred east London club West Ham United for a fee of £65,000 in 1967, which at the time was a world record fee for a goalkeeper. He made his Hammers debut against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

on 19 August 1967, the first game of the 1967–68 season. Despite having to compete for the number one

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...

with Peter Grotier and Mervyn Day, Ferguson still managed 276 appearances during his 13 years at West Ham. He spent time with

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in 1973, making five appearances for them. The signing of Phil Parkes in February 1979 ultimately meant the end of his career at West Ham. He played his last game for the Upton Park club in a 2–1 defeat on 14 November 1979 against Chelsea, and left in 1980. He received a testimonial match in 1981, against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, for which he earned £20,000. He also played

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

football for West Ham as a winger.

Adelaide City

In 1981 Ferguson emigrated to Australia. He played with Adelaide City for one year and then coached the club the following year. He later coached with Vacation Soccer Schools and Burnside Rugby Club.

Career after football

In 1982, he ran a diving firm for six years, but gave up when a colleague was attacked by a shark.

Honours

; Kilmarnock * Scottish league champions: 1964–65

References

External links

* *
Bobby Ferguson
at westhamstats.info {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Bobby 1945 births Adelaide City FC players Men's association football goalkeepers Kilmarnock F.C. players Living people Footballers from North Ayrshire Scotland men's international footballers Scottish Football League players Scottish men's footballers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players English Football League players West Ham United F.C. players National Soccer League (Australia) players Scottish Football League representative players Scotland men's under-23 international footballers People from Ardrossan Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Scottish expatriate men's footballers Association football goalkeeping coaches