Bobby Archibald

Bobby Archibald
Personal information
Full name Robert Fleming Archibald[1]
Date of birth (1894-11-06)6 November 1894
Place of birth Strathaven, Scotland[1]
Date of death January 1966 (aged 7172)[1]
Place of death Scotland
Playing position Outside-left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1912–1913 Albion Rovers 7 (5)
1912–1913 Hibernian 1 (1)
1913–1914 Third Lanark 2 (0)
1913–1914 Albion Rovers 17 (5)
1914–1917 Aberdeen 69 (10)
1916–1917 Rangers (loan) 12 (3)
1917–1918 Ayr United 1 (0)
1918–1919 Dumbarton (loan)[2] 4 (0)
1919–1920 Aberdeen 40 (6)
1920–1924 Raith Rovers 146 (10)
1924–1925 Third Lanark 38 (2)
1925–1931 Stoke City 262 (37)
1932–1933 Barnsley 6 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Robert Fleming "Bobby" Archibald (6 November 1894 – January 1966) was a footballer who played in the Football League for Barnsley and Stoke City.[1][3]

Archibald played for a number of Scottish clubs before joining Stoke City in 1925. He helped Stoke win the Football League Third Division North in 1926–27 and became a consistent performer for Stoke at outside-left. He racked up 276 appearances for Stoke in seven seasons and he scored 40 goals. He ended his career with Barnsley and later became an insurance agent in Glasgow and a scout for Bradford City.

Career

Archibald was born in Strathaven and played for Rutherglen Glencairn, Albion Rovers, Third Lanark before joining Aberdeen in 1914.[1] During World War I he played for Rangers and his army regiment in France and Denmark.[1] On 25 August 1925 at the age of 29 he joined English side Stoke City and made a fine impression scoring on his debut against Stockport County on the opening day of the 1925–26, but a new look Stoke side failed to gel together and the side agonisingly slipped towards relegation to the Third Division.[1] Archibald was a small player at just 5 ft 4in tall and weighing just 10 stone, His physique enabled him to become a fast player and his skill on the wings marked him out as one of the few class acts in the side relegated from the Second Division for the first time.[1] He was renowned for his consistency, from his debut he played 58 consecutive matches before pulling a muscle against Rochdale in November 1927 and missed just six matches in the next six seasons.[1]

His fine footwork proved to be too much for Third Division full backs as he set up numerous chances for Charlie Wilson to score his 25 goals as Stoke won the Football League Third Division North title.[1] After six years of fine service he was awarded a benefit match, he chose the final home match of the 1930–31 season against West Bromwich Albion.[1] The second highest crowd of the season, 26,064 paid £1,540 6s 2d to bid farewell to Archibald.[1] He spent one more season at the Victoria Ground during which the now 38-year-old lost his place to Harold Taylor. Once manager Tom Mather had brought in Joe Johnson in April 1932 he allowed Archibald to join Barnsley.[1] He played just eight matches for the "Tykes" and after spending several seasons in the reserves he retired in May 1937 at the age of 42.[1]

Personal life

At the end of his career he returned to his native Glasgow where he became an insurance agent and scouted from time to time for Bradford City manager Fred Westgarth. His younger brother Jock was also a footballer.

Archibald was a very modern man for his generation, who always required the latest gadget, he would constantly use his wireless set in the dressing room for hours and was one of the few Stoke players to own his own car.[1]

Career statistics

Club Season League FA Cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aberdeen 1914–15 Scottish First Division 31300313
1915–16 Scottish First Division 38700387
1919–20 Scottish First Division 40640446
Total 109164011316
Stoke City 1925–26 Second Division 4210204410
1926–27 Third Division North 37600376
1927–28 Second Division 41642458
1928–29 Second Division 41710427
1929–30 Second Division 40410414
1930–31 Second Division 40331434
1931–32 Second Division 21130241
Total 2623714327640
Barnsley 1932–33 Third Division North 612081
Total 612081
Career Total 4015416341757

Honours

with Stoke City

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287554.
  2. McAllister, Jim (2002). The Sons of the Rock - The Official History of Dumbarton Football Club. Dumbarton: J&J Robertson Printers.
  3. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
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