Bob Crompton

Robert Crompton (26 September 1879 – 16 March 1941) was an English professional footballer. He spent the entirety of his career with his hometown club, Blackburn Rovers. He also represented England on 41 occasions, captaining them 22 times.

Bob Crompton
Personal information
Full name Robert Crompton
Date of birth 26 September 1879
Place of birth Blackburn, England
Date of death 16 March 1941(1941-03-16) (aged 61)
Playing position(s) Right back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1896–1920 Blackburn Rovers 530 (14)
1915–1916 → Blackpool (guest) 0 (0)
National team
1902–1914 England 41 (0)
Teams managed
1926–1931 Blackburn Rovers
1935–1936 Bournemouth
1938–1941 Blackburn Rovers
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Born in Blackburn, Crompton spent his entire career at full-back for Blackburn Rovers, playing 528 games between 1896 and 1920. He won the league twice as captain of the team in 1912 and 1914. In the 1915–16 season he played for Blackpool in the regional leagues set up by the Football League during World War I where he was made club captain.[1] His 41 England caps were a record until surpassed by Billy Wright in 1952. He began his career as a centre-half, but it was at full-back that he excelled, Charlie Buchan describing him as "...the outstanding full-back of his time. A commanding personality, he was the best kicker of a ball I ever ran across."[2]

Management career

He later went on to manage Blackburn between 1926 and 1930, leading them to the FA Cup victory over Huddersfield Town in 1928. After a spell managing Bournemouth, Crompton returned to Rovers as manager in the late 1930s to guide them to the Second Division championship.

Crompton had a heart attack in 1941 while watching Blackburn play Burnley, while he was still in charge of Blackburn. His team had just won the match 3–2. He died that evening.[3]

Career outside football

Crompton was in partnership with his Blackburn Rovers teammate, the Welsh international centre-forward William Davies, as motor engineers.[4]

National Football Museum Hall of Fame

It was announced on 25 February 2015 via Twitter that Bob Crompton would be inducted to the Hall of Fame by the National Football Museum as a 'Historic Player'.[5]

Blackburn Rovers Football Club Hall of Fame

Bob Crompton became the first player (and manager) to be entered into the Blackburn Rovers Football Club Hall of Fame on 8 February 2019 [6]

Honours

As a player

Blackburn Rovers

As a manager

Blackburn Rovers

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References
  1. Wolstenholme, Gerry (May 2008). The Khaki Years, Blackpool Football Club The World War I Seasons 1915/16 - 1918/19. Blackpool: Blackpool Programme and Memorabilia Collectors Club. pp. 1–5. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008.
  2. "England's Most Successful Captains". Daily Telegraph. February 2012.
  3. "Bob Crompton". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  4. Davies, Gareth; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Bridge Books. ISBN 1-872424-11-2.
  5. Museum, Nat Football (25 March 2015). "The 'historic player' to be inducted to this year's #NFMHallOfFame is @OneRovers' legend Bob Crompton, who captained BRFC to 2 Div 1 titles".
  6. https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2019/february/a-night-to-remember-for-the-immortals/
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