Bob Ferrier
Personal information
Full name Robert Ferrier
Date of birth 1899[1]
Place of birth Sheffield, England
Date of death April 1971 (aged 71–72)[1]
Place of death Dumbarton, Scotland[1]
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[2]
Position(s) Outside left[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Dumbarton Athletic[3]
Petershill[2]
1917–1937 Motherwell 626 (255)
International career
1922–1930 Scottish League XI 7 (5)
Managerial career
1943–1945 Airdrieonians
1945–1948 Ayr United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert Ferrier (1899 – 1971) was an English footballer who played for Scottish club Motherwell as an outside left.[2][4] He holds the record for most appearances in the Scottish Football League,[5] and is one of the top ten goalscorers.[6] He was captain of the side that won Motherwell's only league championship to date, in 1931–32,[7] besides playing in two Scottish Cup finals (1931 and 1933, both lost to Celtic). Ferrier represented the Scottish League XI in seven inter-league matches, scoring five goals.[8] After retiring as a player in 1937, he was the Motherwell assistant manager and later managed Airdrieonians and Ayr United.[7]

In October 2021, 104 years after first signing on at Fir Park, it was announced that Ferrier was to be inducted into the Motherwell F.C. Hall of Fame.[1]

Personal life

His father, likewise named Robert and known as Bob, was also a footballer. The older Ferrier achieved success playing for Sheffield Wednesday in the early 1900s.[9] It was during this spell in Yorkshire that his son was born, and although the family moved back to Scotland and young Bob played all his football there,[10] he was ineligible to play for the Scotland national team under the rules of the time due to his birthplace.[2][4] His own son, another Bob, was a sports journalist.[11] Additionally his uncle Willie Speedie (brother of Scottish international Finlay Speedie) and nephew Bob Speedie played for the families' hometown club Dumbarton.[12][3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Bobby Ferrier inducted to Hall of Fame". Motherwell FC. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Bobby Ferrier, MotherWELLnet
  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)
  4. ^ a b Ferrier Bob Image 3 Motherwell 1928, Vintage Footballers
  5. ^ List of League Appearances Records, RSSSF
  6. ^ Scotland - All-Time Topscorers, RSSSF.
  7. ^ a b Past Managers Archived 7 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Ayr United history website.
  8. ^ (SFL player) Bob Ferrier, London Hearts Supporters Club
  9. ^ Ferrier Bob Image 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1896, Vintage Footballers
  10. ^ The "CoodNaes", Scots Football Worldwide
  11. ^ Bob Ferrier, Robert McElroy, The Herald, 29 November 2010, via PressReader
  12. ^ Mitchell, Andy (2021). The men who made Scotland: The definitive Who's Who of Scottish Football Internationalists 1872-1939. Amazon. ISBN 9798513846642.
Categories