Bob Sharpe
Robert Sharpe (20 December 1925 – 21 February 2014) was a Scottish footballer who played as a right back in the Scottish League for Raith Rovers and in the English Football League for Darlington.[1][3]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Sharpe[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 20 December 1925||
Place of birth | Kirkcaldy, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 21 February 2014 88)[2] | (aged||
Position(s) | Right back | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
– | Dunfermline Athletic | 0 | (0) |
1947–194? | Thornton Hibs | ||
194?–1951 | Rosyth Recreation | ||
1951–1952 | Raith Rovers | 1 | (0) |
1952–1953 | Darlington | 14 | (0) |
– | Blackhall Colliery Welfare | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Life and career
Sharpe was born in Kirkcaldy.[1] He played for Dunfermline Athletic in the 1945–46 wartime league[4] before being reinstated as a junior with Thornton Hibs in 1947.[5] By 1949 he was at Rosyth Recreation,[6] helping the club to the top of the Fife Junior League.[7] In February 1951, after Rosyth had beaten them in the Scottish Junior Cup, the Luncarty club protested Sharpe's inclusion, claiming that his reinstatement as a junior was faulty because he had never previously played as such, having moved directly from juvenile football to a senior club. The Scottish Junior Football Association concurred.[8]
Sharpe moved on to Raith Rovers of Scottish League Division One, for whom he appeared for the reserves[9] but only once in a League match.[3] He became one of several Scots recruited in the 1952 close season by Bob Gurney for English Third Division North club Darlington.[10] He played 14 League matches in the 1952–53 season, and then moved into non-league football with Blackhall Colliery Welfare.[3]
He settled in Darlington, County Durham, where he worked at a garage and as a taxi driver[11] and continued to attend Darlington F.C.'s matches.[12] He was married to Jean and had a son. He died in February 2014.[2]
References
- Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1998). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–1998. Queen Anne Press. p. 491. ISBN 978-1-85291-585-8.
- "Deaths: Robert (Bob) Sharpe". The Northern Echo. Darlington. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- "Bob Sharpe". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- "Cup-tie stuff at Kirkcaldy". The Courier. Dundee. 24 September 1945. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "75 seniors wanted to come back". The Courier. Dundee. 24 July 1947. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- 'Fifer' (19 December 1949). "Cup dates for Fife big three". The Courier. Dundee. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "No 'wrecks' in Rosyth's ranks". Evening Telegraph. Dundee. 25 March 1950. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Luncarty win protest". The Courier. Dundee. 8 February 1951. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Raith changes". The Courier. Dundee. 28 September 1951. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Bob signs Scots". Motherwell Times. 11 July 1952. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Amos, Mike (13 March 2014). "Robson's choice". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- Amos, Mike (29 January 2008). "The day Greener's Darlington made FA Cup clowns of Chelsea". The Northern Echo. Darlington. Retrieved 27 November 2017.