Jock Robertson
Encyclopedia
James Walter "Jock" Robertson (21 February 1898 – 29 December 1970) was an English
association football player who played professionally for Gillingham
. He joined the club while it was still playing non-league football
and went on to set a club record for the most matches played in the Football League
, making over 350 appearances.
from the Army in November 1919 he signed for professional club Gillingham
, at the time playing in the Southern Football League
, but had to wait until the following April to make his debut for the team, which came in an away match against Southend United
. He played in seven of the team's final eight matches of the season.
At the end of the 1919–20
season, the Southern League Division One was absorbed into the Football League
to form the new Third Division
, and Robertson played in the club's first ever Football League match against Southampton
on 28 August 1920. Over the next thirteen seasons he made over 350 Football League appearances, a club record which stood for over 30 years. At the end of the 1932–33
season he left Priestfield Stadium
to join non-league
club Canterbury Waverley. Details of his career beyond that point are unknown. He died in Rochester in 1970.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
association football player who played professionally for Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
. He joined the club while it was still playing non-league football
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
and went on to set a club record for the most matches played in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
, making over 350 appearances.
Career
Robertson was born in Chatham and shortly after the First World War played for local team Chatham Centrals. Upon his demobilisationDemobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
from the Army in November 1919 he signed for professional club Gillingham
Gillingham F.C.
Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...
, at the time playing in the Southern Football League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
, but had to wait until the following April to make his debut for the team, which came in an away match against Southend United
Southend United F.C.
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...
. He played in seven of the team's final eight matches of the season.
At the end of the 1919–20
1919-20 in English football
The 1919–1920 season was the 45th season of competitive football in England, and the first following the end of World War I.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition...
season, the Southern League Division One was absorbed into the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
to form the new Third Division
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
, and Robertson played in the club's first ever Football League match against Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
on 28 August 1920. Over the next thirteen seasons he made over 350 Football League appearances, a club record which stood for over 30 years. At the end of the 1932–33
1932-33 in English football
The 1932–33 season was the 58th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour...
season he left Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium
Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent...
to join non-league
Non-league football
Non-League football is football in England played at a level below that of the Premier League and The Football League. The term non-League was commonly used well before 1992 when the top football clubs in England all belonged to The Football League; all clubs who were not a part of The Football...
club Canterbury Waverley. Details of his career beyond that point are unknown. He died in Rochester in 1970.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | Southern League Southern Football League The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales... Division One |
FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gillingham Gillingham F.C. Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium... |
1919–20 1919-20 in English football The 1919–1920 season was the 45th season of competitive football in England, and the first following the end of World War I.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition... |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Club | Season | Football League The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football... Third Division Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two... |
FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
Total | |||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gillingham Gillingham F.C. Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium... |
1920–21 1920-21 in English football The 1920–21 season was the 46th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League Third Division is introduced, expanding the League's operational radius south of Birmingham... |
41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 0 |
| Club | Season | Football League The Football League The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football... Third Division South Football League Third Division South The Football League Third Division South was a level of English professional football which ran in parallel to Third Division North from 1921 to 1958.... |
FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
Total | |||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gillingham Gillingham F.C. Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium... |
1921–22 1921-22 in English football The 1921–22 season was the 47th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The league underwent a major expansion for the second consecutive season, adding 20 teams from the Midlands and Northern England. They were placed in the new Third Division North, and the existing southern-based... |
27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 1922–23 1922-23 in English football The 1922–23 season was the 48th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Liverpool retained the First Division title, but halfway through the season their manager David Ashworth left the club to take over at Oldham Athletic, who ended the season relegated.-Honours:Notes = Number in... |
35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 1923–24 1923-24 in English football The 1923–24 season was the 49th season of competitive football in England.-Events:*On 11 November 1923, Aston Villa centre-half Tommy Ball was shot dead by his neighbour, thus becoming the only Football League player to have been murdered.-Honours:... |
28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 1924–25 1924-25 in English football The 1924–25 season was the 50th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour... |
38 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
| 1925–26 1925-26 in English football The 1925–26 season was the 51st season of competitive football in England. This marked the year that Huddersfield Town won the League three years running, making them the first team in Football League history to do so.-Honours:-First Division:... |
42 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| 1926–27 1926-27 in English football The 1926–27 season was the 52nd season of competitive football in England.-Events:This was the season in which George Camsell scored an astounding 59 goals in 37 league appearances for Middlesbrough-Honours:... |
36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1927–28 1927-28 in English football The 1927–28 season was the 53rd season of competitive football in England.-Events:This was the season in which Dixie Dean scored an astounding 60 goals in 39 league appearances for Everton – 58.8% of their seasons total .-Honours:... |
30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |
| 1928–29 1928-29 in English football The 1928–29 season was the 54th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour... |
32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| 1929–30 1929-30 in English football The 1929–30 season was the 55th season of competitive football in England.-Events:The Wednesday officially changed their name to Sheffield Wednesday prior to the start of this season.... |
30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 1930–31 1930-31 in English football The 1930–31 season was the 56th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Of note this season was Manchester United's record of the worst start in a major European league – they lost their first twelve games of the season and went on to be relegated.... |
16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| 1931–32 1931-32 in English football The 1931–32 season was the 57th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour... |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1932–33 1932-33 in English football The 1932–33 season was the 58th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career totals | 365 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 395 | 1 | |