Bob Sharpe

For the Bradford City A.F.C. manager, see Bob Sharp.
Bob Sharpe
Personal information
Full nameRobert Sharpe[1]
Date of birth20 December 1925[1]
Place of birthKirkcaldy, Scotland
Date of death21 February 2014 (aged 88)[2]
Playing positionRight back
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
–Dunfermline Athletic0(0)
1947–194?Thornton Hibs
194?–1951Rosyth Recreation
1951–1952Raith Rovers1(0)
1952–1953Darlington14(0)
–Blackhall Colliery Welfare
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Robert "Bob" 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]

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

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Deaths: Robert (Bob) Sharpe". The Northern Echo (Darlington). 3 March 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Bob Sharpe". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Players Database. Neil Brown. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Cup-tie stuff at Kirkcaldy". The Courier (Dundee). 24 September 1945. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "75 seniors wanted to come back". The Courier (Dundee). 24 July 1947. p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ 'Fifer' (19 December 1949). "Cup dates for Fife big three". The Courier (Dundee). p. 4 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ "No 'wrecks' in Rosyth's ranks". Evening Telegraph (Dundee). 25 March 1950. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  8. ↑ "Luncarty win protest". The Courier (Dundee). 8 February 1951. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  9. ↑ "Raith changes". The Courier (Dundee). 28 September 1951. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ "Bob signs Scots". Motherwell Times. 11 July 1952. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).
  11. ↑ Amos, Mike (13 March 2014). "Robson's choice". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  12. ↑ Amos, Mike (29 January 2008). "The day Greener's Darlington made FA Cup clowns of Chelsea". The Northern Echo (Darlington). Retrieved 10 October 2014.