Bobby Parker (footballer, born 1891)

Robert Norris Parker (27 March 1891 – 1950) was a Scottish professional footballer whose position was centre forward.

This article is about the Rangers and Everton player. For the Hearts player, see Bobby Parker (footballer, born 1925).

Bobby Parker
Personal information
Full name Robert Norris Parker[1]
Date of birth (1891-03-27)27 March 1891
Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 1950 (aged 58–59)[1]
Place of death Liverpool, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1910 Ashfield
1910–1913 Rangers 17 (17)
1913–1921 Everton 84 (68)
1916–1917 → Rangers (loan) 1 (0)
1917 → Morton (loan) 18 (9)
1921–1923 Nottingham Forest
1923–1925 Fraserburgh
Teams managed
1925–1926 Fraserburgh
1926–? Bohemians
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played professionally in Scotland with Rangers and Morton,[2] and in England with Everton and Nottingham Forest during a career interrupted by World War I, in which he was seriously injured. He later served as manager of Fraserburgh in Scotland and Bohemians in Ireland.

Playing career

Born in Glasgow, Parker started off his career with Junior team Ashfield followed by three seasons at Rangers,[1][3] during which he had a scoring record of a goal every game but was always a backup to the equally prolific Willie Reid; Rangers won the Scottish Football League title in each of those years, but it is unclear if Parker was awarded any medals, having only featured in 2, 3 and 9 of the fixtures respectively.

With the situation unchanged at the beginning of a fourth campaign, he moved to England to play for Everton in 1913 for a fee of £1,500.[4] He finished top goalscorer for the Toffees in the 1913–14 and 1914–15 seasons, the latter of which he was top goalscorer overall in the First Division while Everton were crowned champions.[5]

The First World War then interrupted Parker's the career, and ultimately robbed him from cementing a place amongst Everton's greats as he returned home from the conflict with a bullet lodged in his back.[4][6] The injury made him a shadow of his former self and he was later sold to Nottingham Forest.[4]

Coaching career

In retirement he worked as manager of Irish club Bohemians where he coached them to the Clean Sweep in 1927–28; winning the League of Ireland, FAI Cup, Shield and Leinster Senior Cup.[4]

Personal life

Parker served as a private in the Royal Scots Fusiliers and Labour Corps during the First World War.[6]

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 224. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. (Rangers player) Parker, Bobby, FitbaStats
  4. "Parker Bobby Image 1 Everton 1920 – Vintage Footballers". vintagefootballers.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  5. "Bobby Parker | Everton Football Club". www.evertonfc.com. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  6. "Robert Norris Parker | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
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