Harold Roberts (footballer)

Harold Roberts
Personal information
Full nameHarold Roberts
Date of birth12 January 1920
Place of birthLiverpool, England
Date of death11 February 2007 (aged 87)
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing positionOutside left
Youth career
–Everton
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
193x–1939Harrowby?(?)
1939–1948Chesterfield92(9)
1948–1951Birmingham City34(2)
1951–1953Shrewsbury Town70(16)
1953–195?Scunthorpe United17(1)
1955–1956Matlock Town?(?)
1956–1957Gresley Rovers?(?)
1957–19??Burton Albion?(?)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Harold Roberts (12 January 1920 – 11 February 2007), also known as Harry Roberts, was an English professional footballer who made 213 appearances in the Football League playing for Chesterfield, Birmingham City, Shrewsbury Town and Scunthorpe United.[1] He played as an outside left.

Career

Roberts was born in Liverpool.[2] As a 16-year-old he spent a season with Everton, and then played for Harrowby. He joined Chesterfield in September 1939, just before the Football League was suspended for the duration of the Second World War.[3] During the war, Roberts served with No. 2 Commando. He was wounded in the legs and captured during Operation Chariot, the raid on the French port of St Nazaire in 1942, and owed the possibility of a football career to the repair work carried out by a German surgeon.[3][4] Roberts spent three-and-a-half years in a prisoner of war camp in Bremen. On his return, he lodged with Chesterfield coach and former England international Joe Spence, whose individual work with Roberts played a major role in his recovery.[3]

He scored on his first-team debut, in the 1946 FA Cup at home to York City, and made his Football League debut on 31 August 1946, in the Second Division in a 1–1 draw at home to Bradford Park Avenue.[5] Described as "an outside-left of great distinction, ... skilful, intelligent and, above all, fast, with an excellent pin-point cross", Roberts made 92 league appearances for the club in two-and-a-half years. In November 1948 he moved on to Birmingham City, recently promoted to the First Division, for a fee of £10,600, at the time a record fee received by the Chesterfield club.[3] During his time at Birmingham he suffered a number of injuries which restricted his appearances to 38 in a two-and-a-half year stay. At the end of the 1950–51 season, Roberts joined Shrewsbury Town of the Third Division South,[2] where he played regularly for two seasons[1] before finishing his league career with infrequent outings for Scunthorpe United over a further two seasons.[6]

Roberts then played non-league football for Matlock Town, Gresley Rovers, for whom he scored 6 goals from 38 games,[7] and Burton Albion, and helped with the coaching of Matlock Town's reserve team as they won the Central Alliance Division Two title and League Cup in the 1959–60 season.[8][9] During the 1960s Roberts spent eight years as a youth worker at Staveley Chantry youth club, where he established a football team. He then returned to Chesterfield F.C., initially as an assistant youth coach, and remained at the club until 1983, when he was one of several staff dismissed by a new board of directors. He later acted as a scout for Sheffield United and Rotherham United.[3][10]

Roberts was married to Dorothy and had two sons,[10] one of whom, Peter, also played league football for Chesterfield.[3][11] Harold Roberts died in hospital in Chesterfield in 2007 at the age of 87.[10]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Harold Roberts". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "Harold Roberts: 1920–2007". Chesterfield F.C. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  4. ↑ "St Nazaire Raid 28th March 1942". Commando Veterans Association. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  5. ↑ "Chesterfield's debuts" (Excel spreadsheet). Chesterfield F.C. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  6. ↑ "The Iron Alphabet". Scunthorpe United F.C. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Harold Roberts". Gresley Rovers Player Database. Gresley F.C. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  8. ↑ "Pen pictures and player profiles". Down Causeway Lane. Matlock Town F.C. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  9. ↑ "Crook Town and that 1959/60 season". Down Causeway Lane. Matlock Town F.C. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Mr H. Roberts". Derbyshire Times. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2009.
  11. ↑ "Chesterfield : 1946/47–2007/08". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 22 June 2009.

External links