Bobby Blood

Bobby Blood

Blood whilst at Port Vale.
Personal information
Full name	Robert Blood[1]
Date of birth	18 March 1894[1]
Place of birth	Harpur Hill, Buxton, England[1]
Date of death	12 August 1988 (aged 94)[1]
Place of death	Harpur Hill, Buxton, England[1]
Playing position	Centre-forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
	Buxton
	Buxton Lime Firms
	Leek Alexandra
	7th Sherwood Foresters
	Leek United
1919–1921	Port Vale	57	(45)
1921–1924	West Bromwich Albion	53	(26)
1924–1927	Stockport County
1927–1928	Winsford United
1928–1929	Mossley[2]	17	(6)
1929–1930	Ashton National
1930–1931	Buxton
Total		127+	(77+)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Robert "Bobby" Blood (18 March 1894 – 12 August 1988) was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward, noted for his powerful strikes.

His professional career bagan after signing for Port Vale in November 1919. Scoring 45 goals in 57 Second Division earned himself a £4,000 move to West Bromwich Albion in February 1921. He scored 26 goals in 53 First Division games, before moving on to Stockport County in 1924. Three years later he signed for non-league Winsford United, later turning out for Mossley, Ashton National and Buxton.

Playing career

Blood played non-league football for local sides Buxton, Buxton Lime Firms, Leek Alexandra, 7th Sherwood Foresters and Leek United, before signing for Port Vale for a £50 fee in November 1919 after impressing on trial the previous year.^[1] During the First World War he suffered a hole in his right leg, as well as having one leg shorter than the other; doctors said he was not fit enough to play professional football, though the management at The Old Recreation Ground felt otherwise.^[1] In the 1919–20 season he finished as top scorer with 26 goals in 32 games – a remarkable feat for a 25-year-old newcomer to the Football League still carrying the scars of war.^[1] He scored twice in games against Clapton Orient, Bury, Bristol City, Stockport County (both home and away); hit a hat-trick past Nottingham Forest; and put four past Rotherham County on 28 February.

He continued his goal scoring feats in the 1920–21 season with 20 goals in 26 games.^[1] He scored against Stoke in the Potteries derby, and hit braces against Nottingham Forest, Hull City, Clapton Orient, and Bury; also putting four past Stockport County on 11 December. He demonstrated the fearsome power of his shot by striking a penalty which was saved by the Bristol City at the cost of a broken wrist.^[3]

West Bromwich Albion secretary-manager Fred Everiss signed him in February 1921 for £4,000, then a club record fee.^[4] Vale fans were outraged at the sale, though Blood was informed that the club's financial situation meant that either "[he] went or the club".^[3] The move took Blood from the Second Division into the First Division. Albion finished comfortably in mid-table in 1920–21, 1921–22, and 1922–23. Blood finished as the club's top scorer in 1923–24 with nine goals.

He played for Fred Scotchbrook's Stockport County in the Second Division during the 1924–25 campaign, though his goals could not prevent County suffering relegation in last place in 1925–26. After spending 1926–27 in the Third Division North, he moved on to Cheshire County League side Winsford United. He moved on to league rivals Mossley in 1928, scoring six goals in 17 league games. He then transferred to Ashton National Gas, before returning to Buxton in 1930.

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 33. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. Mossley stats
3. Kent, Jeff (1990). "Keeping in Good Company (1919-1929)". The Valiants' Years The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 98–123. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
4. Matthews, Tony (2005). The Who's Who of West Bromwich Albion. Breedon Books. p. 32. ISBN 1-85983-474-4.