Neil Robinson (20 April 1957 – 24 November 2022) 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 lea ...

who played as a defender or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Everton,

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Career

Robinson was born the youngest of a family of seven children (six boys, one girl), just 100 yards away from

Everton Football Club Everton Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in 1878, the club was a foun ...

's ground,

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

, (in Spellow Lane,

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingd ...

Liverpool). He began his football career as an apprentice professional at Everton in April 1973, aged 16. He signed as a full-time professional for Everton one year later in April 1974. Robinson scored his only goal for Everton at Goodison Park in the last game of the 1977–78 season beating Chelsea 6–0. Robinson became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

at age 13 in 1970 and in 1980, age 23, he became a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and was reportedly the first vegan footballer to have played professionally. In the 1981–82 season he became the first vegan to score in a top-flight match. Robinson was the Grimsby Town Player of the Year for 1985–86.

Personal life and death

Robinson was the youngest brother of

Sir Ken Robinson Sir Kenneth Robinson (4 March 1950 – 21 August 2020) was a British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies. He was director of the Arts in Schools Project ( ...

. He married his wife, Pauline, on 31 January 1978 and they had three children, including former professional footballer Neil David Robinson. He died from sudden cardiac arrest on 24 November 2022, at the age of 65.

References

1957 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Liverpool English men's footballers Everton F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders People from Walton, Liverpool English Football League players {{England-footy-midfielder-1950s-stub