Bob Benson
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert William Benson | ||
| Date of birth | 9 February 1883 | ||
| Place of birth | Whitehaven, Cumbria, England | ||
| Date of death | 19 February 1916 (aged 33) | ||
| Place of death | Highbury, London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Full back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Dunston Villa | |||
| Shankhouse | |||
| Swalwell | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1902–1903 | Newcastle United | 1 | (0) |
| 1903–1905 | Southampton | 19 | (0) |
| 1905–1913 | Sheffield United | 273 | (20) |
| 1913–1916 | Arsenal | 52 | (7) |
| National team | |||
| 1913 | England | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Robert William Benson (9 February 1883 – 19 February 1916) was an English professional footballer, who played as a full back, spending most of his career with Sheffield United. He was notable not just for being an England international but also for being among those players who died directly as a result of playing.
Contents |
[edit] Football career
[edit] Newcastle United
Born in Whitehaven, Benson had worked as a coal-miner playing for various local clubs, including Swalwell, where he was spotted by Newcastle United and signed as a professional in December 1902.[1] Competition for places restricted him to just a single appearance for the club, on 7 March 1903.[2]
[edit] Southampton
Soon after the start of the 1904–05 season, the Southampton directors were trying to recruit a right-back following the departure of Jack Robertson in the summer. Joe Hoare had been tried but was now past his prime, so the directors sent a club official to the north east to hunt for a player. The official's quest took him to Newcastle, where he interviewed Benson and, after agreeing a fee of £150 with the Magpies, the official returned "triumphantly" to the south coast with his "catch".[3]
Benson made his Southampton debut on 1 October 1904, in a 1–1 draw at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.[4] Benson's form was immediately impressive; described as "big and bold", he was a terror to opposition forwards, "snuffing out their moves with his sense of anticipation".[3] Benson also developed an unorthodox method of taking penalties — by running the full length of the pitch from his full-back position before kicking the ball.[5] Unfortunately, his method of penalty-taking was not a success, never actually converting any of the penalties he took in his year with the "Saints".[3]
During his one season at The Dell, Benson missed several long periods through injury, when he was replaced by the veteran Samuel Meston, and made 19 Southern League appearances, plus three in the FA Cup,[4] before a summer 1905 transfer took him back to the Football League First Division for a fee of £150,[3] when he joined Sheffield United.
[edit] Sheffield United
He spent eight seasons at Bramall Lane where he developed into a strong tackler and perfected his penalty taking – all but one of his 21 goals scored for United came from the penalty spot.[1] During his time with Sheffield United, the club generally finished in mid-table, with their highest finish being fourth in 1906–07.
His form brought him to the notice of the Football Association and in 1910 he was a member of the F.A. touring party to South Africa,[6] as well as representing the Football League on one occasion. He received his solitary cap for England on 15 February 1913 when he played at left-back against Ireland, when England lost 2-1, with both Irish goals coming from Benson's Sheffield United team-mate Billy Gillespie.[7]
He played 283 matches for Sheffield United in all competitions, scoring 21 goals, including 20 penalties.
[edit] Woolwich Arsenal
In November 1913 Benson joined Woolwich Arsenal, soon after they had made their move to Highbury. He made his debut against Bristol City on 29 November 1913, and over two seasons he made 53 appearances for the Gunners, mostly at full-back although he was later moved to centre forward, and eventually scored seven goals for the club as they tried for promotion back into the First Division; Arsenal would eventually win re-election based on their position of fifth in 1914-15 after the end of World War I.
Due to the war, in 1915 first-class football was suspended. Benson quit the game to work at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, munitions factory. He kept in touch with his old club and on 19 February 1916 attended a London Combination match at Highbury against Reading. With his former team mate Joe Shaw unable to make the game, Benson volunteered to take his place, which ultimately had fatal consequences. Having not played a game for nearly a year, Benson was not match-fit. He collapsed on the pitch in the second half and had to be taken off; soon afterwards he died in the Highbury changing rooms, in the arms of team trainer George Hardy.[8]
It was later determined he had died of a burst blood vessel, from a long-standing medical condition.[9][10] Benson was buried wearing his Arsenal shirt. Three months later, Arsenal held a testimonial match in his honour, against a Rest of London XI, with the proceeds going to his widow; over 5,000 attended to pay their respects.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Betts, Graham (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing. pp. 34–35. ISBN 1-905009-63-1.
- ^ "NUFC Players - One Hit Wonders". Newcastle-Online.com. http://www.newcastle-online.com/nufchistory/nufconehitwonders.shtml.
- ^ a b c d Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
- ^ a b Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
- ^ Saints – A complete record. p. 233.
- ^ "1901-1910 Matches". International Matches Project. http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~nfm24/football/1901-1910oth.html.
- ^ "Bob Benson". EnglandStats.com. http://www.englandstats.com/playerreport.php?pid=101.
- ^ a b "It Happened at Highbury". Arsenal.com. http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=&article=379040.
- ^ Harris, Jeff & Hogg, Tony (ed.) (1995). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4.
- ^ Richard William Cox, Dave Russell & Wray Vamplew (2002). Encyclopedia of British Football. Routledge. p. 56. http://books.google.com/books?id=63AL641DvuUC&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=%22bob+benson%22+arsenal&source=web&ots=p5gd9gVBiW&sig=EIkXpvEndMET0ETh8KSd6t5vrcM.
