Bob Wilson (footballer, born 1941)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Primrose Wilson | ||
Date of birth | 30 October 1941 | ||
Place of birth | Chesterfield, England | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1961–1963 | Wolverhampton Wanderers[1] | 0 | (0) |
1963–1974 | Arsenal | 310 | (0) |
International career | |||
1971 | Scotland | 2 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Robert Primrose Wilson OBE (born 30 October 1941) is a former Scotland international football goalkeeper and later broadcaster.[2]
As a player, Wilson spent 11 years at
Early life
Wilson was born on Ashgate Road, in Chesterfield, where his father William was the Borough Engineer and Surveyor, and his mother Catherine Wilson (nee Primrose) was a magistrate.[3][4] Their Ashgate Road house was named "Threepwood" after the Galston, East Ayrshire farm where William Wilson was born.[4]
He was the youngest child of six and had much older brothers and an elder sister. Two of his brothers were killed in the
He spent time with Loughborough College.[7]
Club career
Wilson started late as a professional player, as his father would not let him sign papers with Manchester United as he thought it was not a reasonable job whilst he was a youth. Wilson then went on to Loughborough College for training as a teacher. He had been playing reserve games for Wolverhampton Wanderers as an amateur between 1961 and 1963 and was the first amateur to have a transfer fee paid (£7,500).[1] He remained an amateur for eight months when he signed for Arsenal in July 1963 until he signed professional forms in March 1964.[8]
Wilson made his debut against Nottingham Forest on 26 October 1963 in a 4–2 win. However, being forced to play understudy to Jim Furnell, it was to be over four years until Wilson became first-choice keeper in 1968, after Furnell made a mistake in an FA Cup tie against Birmingham City in March 1968. Wilson took over and remained in goal for Arsenal for the remainder of the 1967–68 season.[9]
Later, firmly ensconced in the Arsenal side, Wilson was ever-present in the
Wilson continued to play as Arsenal's keeper through the early 1970s, although an injury late on in the 1972 FA Cup semi-final against
took his place, but Wilson regained the number one shirt once fully recovered, and was Arsenal's first-choice goalkeeper up until his surprisingly early retirement from playing in May 1974, at the age of 32.As a student and teacher of goalkeeping, Wilson has identified his own signature technique as diving at his opponents' feet to save goals. This caused him a number of injuries throughout his career.
International career
He became eligible to play for Scotland when the rules were changed in 1970 to allow players to play for their parents' countries of origin, if they had not already played for their own country. Wilson was selected by Scotland manager Tommy Docherty for his first match in charge, against Portugal on 13 October 1971.[10] Wilson was also selected for the match against the Netherlands on 1 December 1971, but Bobby Clark of Aberdeen was preferred after this.
Coaching career
After retiring, Wilson was goalkeeping coach for Arsenal for 28 years, during which Pat Jennings, John Lukic, and David Seaman were goalkeepers. He retired at the end of the 2002–03 season, having helped Arsenal win two more doubles in 1997–98 and 2001–02, as only one of two people to have been involved with all three, with the other being Pat Rice.[2]
Broadcasting career
BBC
Wilson had already appeared as a pundit for the
ITV
In late 1994, he moved to
He still makes occasional appearances on television, on the BBC's
He was the subject of
Roy of the Rovers
In the mid-1980s he featured in a comic strip when he spent a season playing for the fictional
Personal life
Wilson married Margaret "Megs" Miles on 25 July 1964 at Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield,[12] and they had three children: John (born 1965), Anna (1966–1998) and Robert (born 1968). John Wilson is a presenter on Front Row, the BBC Radio 4 arts programme. Megs Wilson died in November 2023.[13]
It was announced in April 2014 that Wilson was fighting prostate cancer.[14]
His middle name, Primrose, stems from a Scottish tradition of giving children their mother's maiden name as a middle name.[15]
Wilson's great niece is Gina Coladangelo, a British businesswoman and lobbyist who made headlines in 2021 after exposure of her extramarital affair with Health Secretary Matt Hancock.[16]
Charity work
In February 1994, his daughter Anna was diagnosed with
In 2007, Wilson was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his charity work.[19]
Honorary award
In 1989, Wilson received an honorary award of Doctor of Letters from Loughborough University.[20]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe[a] | Total [21] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Arsenal | |||||||||||
1963–64 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
1964–65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
1965–66 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
1966–67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
1967–68 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
1968–69 | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
1969–70 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
1970–71 | 42 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 64 | 0 | |
1971–72 | 37 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 53 | 0 | |
1972–73 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
1973–74 | 41 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
Career total | 234 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 308 | 0 |
Honours
Arsenal[2]
- First Division: 1970–71
- 1970–71
- 1969–70
Individual
See also
- List of Scotland international footballers born outside Scotland
- "Bob Wilson – Anchorman", a 2001 song by Half Man Half Biscuit
Notes
- European Cup
References
- ^ a b "Bob Wilson OBE And His Molineux Years". wolvesheroes.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Foundation Ambassador - Bob Wilson". Arsenal.com. 17 December 2023.
- ^ Mitchell, Kevin (12 May 2002). "Wilson lets go after 39 years - but stays on call for club he loves". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ a b c "Jock & Billy Wilson: A remembrance presented at the OCs 2019 Service" (PDF). oldcestrefeldians.org.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Wilson, John Primrose". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- ^ "Casualty Details: Wilson, William Primrose". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- ^ "Loughborough team photo with Barry Hines is a bit of football history". The Guardian. 29 March 2016 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Bob Wilson". 11v11.com.
- ^ a b "Greatest 50 Players - 39. Bob Wilson". Arsenal.com. 17 December 2023.
- ^ "NOW YOU KNOW: Legend Eusebio played at Hampden in Scots win". Evening Times. Herald & Times Group. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ^ "Quirky Facts". goalkeepersaredifferent.com.
- ^ "Bob Wilson – Famous Derbyshire People". Peak District Online. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ "Willow Foundation co-founder Megs Wilson dies aged 81". Welwyn Hatfield Times. 29 November 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson to get cancer treatment". The Guardian. London. 13 April 2014.
- ^ Turner, Georgina; Smyth, Rob (2 June 2004). "How many smoking managers are there?". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
- ^ Shipman, Tim; Pogrund, Gabriel (26 June 2021). "Matt Hancock: puritan-in-chief who became the (ex) minister for hypocrisy". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "Sports presenter's daughter dies". BBC News. 2 December 1998. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ "Popular Broadcaster Bob Wilson Launches National Charity in Memory of His Daughter" (PDF). Willow Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007.
- ^ "New Year Honours for sports stars". BBC News. 29 December 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ "University Honours archive | Graduation | Loughborough University". www.lboro.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Arsenal First Team Line-ups". thearsenalhistory.com.
- Sources
- Harris, Jeff (1995). Hogg, Tony (ed.). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4.