Bill Robertson (Scottish footballer)

William Gibb Robertson (13 November 1928 – 26 June 1973) was a Scottish professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper in the English Football League and made a total of 246 league appearances for Chelsea and Leyton Orient.[1]

Not to be confused with Bill Robertson (English footballer), Chelsea goalkeeper of the 1940s who later played for Stoke City.

Bill Robertson
Robertson in 1955
Personal information
Full name William Gibb Robertson
Date of birth 13 November 1928
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 26 June 1973(1973-06-26) (aged 44)
Place of death Sutton, London, England
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
0000–1946 Arthurlie
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1946–1960 Chelsea 199
1960–1963 Leyton Orient 47
1963–1964 Dover
1970 Ashford Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

In July 1946 Robertson, aged 17, was signed by First Division club Chelsea from Arthurlie of the Scottish Central Junior League.[2] He made his league debut for Chelsea five years later on 21st April 1951 against Liverpool, when he kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory – in his four appearances at the end of the season Chelsea recorded four wins that were instrumental in the team escaping relegation.[3] He missed only one league match during the following 1951–52 season and played in excess of half of the teams league matches in each of the next four seasons. This included 26 matches in the 1954–55 season, when Chelsea won the First Division championship – Robertson was injured mid-season in January 1955 and Charlie Thomson played in the remaining 16 matches of the season.[3] By the next campaign he had regained his starting spot and played in 34 league matches, however after commencing the 1956–57 season as Chelsea's starting goalkeeper after mid-November 1956 Robertson made only a further four appearances that season and did not play for the first team during the 1957–58 season. He played 13 more matches for Chelsea over the next two seasons, taking his total to 199 league appearances and 215 in total in all competitions for Chelsea.[4]

In September 1960 Robertson transferred to Second Division club Leyton Orient[5] for a £1,000 transfer fee.[3] His 47 league appearances for the club were evenly divided over three seasons. During the second of these, the 1961–62 season, during which Leyton Orient won promotion to the First Division, Robertson played in the latter 15 matches of the campaign, keeping seven clean sheets. He was the team's starting goalkeeper for the opening 14 First Division league matches of the 1962–63 season but played in the first team in league matches only twice more, during March 1963. Leyton Orient were relegated at the end of the season and Robertson was not retained by the club.[6]

Robertson signed for non-league club Dover of the Southern League in July 1963[7] but did not establish himself as their regular starting goalkeeper. In September 1970 he made a one-off appearance in a Southern League Premier Division match for Ashford Town[8] who were managed by his former Chelsea team-mate Peter Sillett.

Robertson died in Sutton, London on 26 June 1973, at the age of 44.[1]

Football league career statistics
Appearances (Apps), Goals Conceded (Goals Conc'd) and Clean Sheets by club, season and competition[4][9]
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoals Conc'dClean SheetsAppsGoals Conc'dClean SheetsAppsGoals Conc'dClean SheetsAppsGoals Conc'dClean Sheets
Chelsea 1950–51 First Division 422000000422
1951–52 41726911200050838
1952–53 2746400000027464
1953–54 3455600000034556
1954–55 2639210100027393
1955–56 346174411[lower-alpha 1]0139659
1956–57 2034600000020346
1957–58 000000000000
1958–59 102300001[lower-alpha 2]4011270
1959–60 350000000350
Total 199337331415424121535638
Leyton Orient 1960–61 Second Division 1518200000015182
1961–62 1612800000016128
1962–63 First Division 162642112[lower-alpha 3]4020315
Total 475614211240516115
Career total 246393471616548126641753
As of matches played 23 March 1963
  1. 1955 FA Charity Shield
  2. 1958–60 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  3. 1962–63 Football League Cup

References
  1. "Bill Robertson". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  2. "Rangers Get Arthurlie's Star Forward: 'Keeper Goes To Chelsea". Daily Record. Glasgow. 9 July 1946. p. 7.
  3. Henderson, Charlie (30 April 2005). "Champions of a different era". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  4. "Chelsea FC Profile: Bill Robertson". Stamford-Bridge.com The History of Chelsea F.C. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  5. "Robertson Joins Orient". Acton Gazette. Acton. 16 September 1960. p. 19.
  6. "Leyton Players Not Retained". Coventry Evening News. Coventry. 4 May 1963. p. 37.
  7. "New Keeper". East Kent Gazette. Sittingbourne. 18 July 1963. p. 9.
  8. "Bill Robertson Profile". The Nuts and Bolts Archive. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  9. Bill Robertson at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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