Bob Wilson (footballer, born September 1898)

Bob Wilson
Personal information
Full name	Robert Scott Wilson
Date of birth	25 September 1898
Place of birth	Bellshill, Scotland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Centre half; Centre forward;
Senior career*
Years	Team
–	Cambuslang Rangers
1921–1924	Third Lanark
1924–1925	Bradford (Park Avenue)
1925–1926	Shawsheen Indians
1926–1928	Fall River F.C.
1928	Bethlehem Steel
1928–1929	Pawtucket Rangers
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert Scott Wilson (born 25 September 1898) was a Scottish footballer who played mainly as a centre half.

Career

Born and raised in Bellshill, he began his senior career with Third Lanark, making 30 Scottish Football League appearances in the 1922–23 Scottish Division One season.^[3] In the summer of 1923 he took part in the club's tour of South America^[4]^[5] and three months later featured on the losing side in the final of the Glasgow Cup;^[6] however, he made only four league appearances that season and moved on to Bradford (Park Avenue) in England,^[3] where he underwent a positional change and became a centre forward, succeeding in the role to the extent that he finished the club's leading scorer for the campaign with 25 goals in the Football League Third Division North.

In late 1925 Wilson moved to the United States and the American Soccer League,^[7]^[8] reverting to a more defensive position and initially featuring not for the Fall River F.C. as had been rumoured,^[9] but for newcomers the Shawsheen Indians before switching to the 'Marksmen' in time to play a part in their 1925–26 American Soccer League title-winning campaign. He remained with Fall River for two further seasons, winning the 1927 National Challenge Cup with a 7–0 win over Holley Carburetor^[10] lining up alongside several other Scots including another former Third Lanark player Charlie McGill. After a single trial appearance in the ASL for Bethlehem Steel,^[11] Wilson transferred to the Pawtucket Rangers (also known as J. & P. Coats) for the 1928–29 season^[12] which was his last in the league.^[7] It is believed that he remained in the United States after his playing career, settling in California.^{[citation needed]}

^ 'Highland Pride': La Plata, Argentina to Liverpool, England, 4 Aug 1923, UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960, via Ancestry (subscription required)
^ "League clubs and their players for the coming season. Bradford". Athletic News. Manchester. 4 August 1924. p. 3.
^ ^a ^b John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ Ciullini, Pablo. "Río de la Plata Trip of Third Lanark 1923". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
^ Tommy McInally: Celtic's Bad Bhoy, David Potter; Black & White Publishing, 2009; ISBN 9781845025786
^ Glasgow Cup Final Tie, The Glasgow Herald, 1 October 1923
^ ^a ^b Bob Wilson, ScorrerStats.us
^ Bob Wilson, StatsCrew
^ New Soccer Men For U.S. League | Wilson and Cook, Star British Players, Reported as Acquisitions for America, Bethlehem Globe, July 29, 1925, via Bethlehem Steel Soccer Club
^ The US Open Cup Final: 1914-present, Josh Hakala, TheCup.us, 30 September 2011
^ 2-2 Tie With Boston on Sunday Clinches Honor for Local Champions, The Globe-Times, Bethlehem, April 16, 1928, via Bethlehem Steel Soccer Club
^ J & P Coats Team Includes Many Stars | Former Fall River Players are Aiding Threadmakers to Win Games, The Globe -- Bethlehem, September 6, 1928, via Bethlehem Steel Soccer Club