Bobby Collins
Personal information
Full name Robert Young Collins[1]
Date of birth (1931-02-16)16 February 1931
Place of birth Govanhill, Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death 13 January 2014(2014-01-13) (aged 82)
Place of death Leeds, England
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Polmadie Hawthorn Juveniles
Pollok
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1949–1958 Celtic 220 (81)
1958–1962 Everton 133 (42)
1960 → Southern Suburbs (loan)
1962–1967 Leeds United 149 (24)
1967–1969 Bury 75 (6)
1969–1971 Greenock Morton 55 (3)
1971 Ringwood City 6 (0)
1972 Melbourne Hakoah
1972 Ringwood City
1972–1973 Oldham Athletic 7 (0)
1973–1974 Shamrock Rovers 11 (1)
Total 650+ (157+)
International career
1950–1965 Scotland 31 (10)
1951–1958 Scottish League XI 16 (12)
1958[2] SFL trial v SFA 1 (0)
1959–1960[3][4] SFA trial v SFL 2 (0)
Managerial career
1974-1975 Huddersfield Town
1977–1978 Hull City
1984–1985 Barnsley
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert Young Collins (16 February 1931 – 13 January 2014) was a Scotland international football player, best known for his successful spells at Celtic, Everton and Leeds United.[5]

Playing career

Celtic

Collins was born on 16 February 1931 in Govanhill, Glasgow, Scotland, the eldest of Tom and Bella Collins's six children.[6] He signed a contract with Everton from Pollok at the age of 17, but after a contractual dispute he eventually ended up joining Celtic instead of Everton; he was also working as an apprentice cobbler at the time.[7] He made his debut at outside-right against Old Firm rivals Rangers on 13 August 1949, getting the better of Jock Shaw he helped Celtic to a 3–2 Scottish League Cup victory.[8] Despite being just about 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) tall, Collins was a strong, hard-working midfield player who was in the Celtic team as a 17-year-old and stayed there for ten years, winning the Scottish Cup in 1951, and the Scottish cup double in 1954. Affectionately known as the Wee Barra by Celtic fans, he was idolised by three generations of supporters.[citation needed] The grandfathers loved his throwback style of keeping the ball close, the dads loved his all-out action style and the kids just wanted to play like him.[citation needed] He was also called up for international duty in 1950, and maintained a frequent presence in the Scotland squad in the later stages of the decade. Collins also represented the Scottish League XI 16 times, scoring 12 goals.[9]

Everton

In 1958 Collins joined Everton where he played until 1962.[10]

Leeds United

Collins was an astute addition to the Leeds squad by manager Don Revie in 1962, helping the club avoid relegation. Revie later described Collins as his best ever signing.[11] Leeds won promotion to the First Division in 1964, and Collins captained the side towards a potential League and FA Cup double a year later; however, Leeds missed out on the League on goal average to Manchester United, and lost the 1965 FA Cup Final to Liverpool. Collins's achievements at Leeds were recognised when he was awarded the Footballer of the Year title in 1965. His sparkling form at Leeds also won him a recall to the Scotland squad after a six-year absence, and he earned three more caps. His international career ended with 31 appearances and ten goals. Collins continued to skipper Leeds until 1966, when he suffered a horrific broken thighbone in a Fairs Cup tie against Torino. He briefly came back from the injury, but age and a struggle to reclaim previous form brought his Leeds career to an end.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

Later playing career

Bury signed Collins and he stayed there for two years.[10]

During a short period back in his native Scotland with Greenock Morton, he doubled up as a scout for Revie, and recommended Joe Jordan. Jordan went on to become a respected and feared striker with Leeds, Manchester United, Milan and Scotland. Collins' last appearance for Morton was in August 1971, in a pre-season friendly against his former club Leeds United.

In 1972 Collins was playing coach of Australian club Ringwood City but left after a disagreement with the club board.[18]

He then had a spell as player-coach with Oldham.

Collins guested for Shamrock Rovers in a friendly with Manchester United at Dalymount Park on 15 October 1973 and signed for The Hoops the following month making his début on the 11th at Glenmalure Park. He played a total of 13 games, 11 in the league scoring once on his second appearance at Finn Harps.[12]

Managerial career

Collins went into management, with spells at Huddersfield Town, Hull City and Barnsley. He also coached within the Leeds youth set-up in the 1970s and then again in the late 1990s.[19]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season Division League National cup League cup Other[a] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Celtic 1949–50 Scottish First Division 26 7 4 0 6 1 2 0 38 8
1950–51 27 15 7 2 8 3 5 0 47 20
1951–52 30 12 2 0 8 1 2 3 42 16
1952–53 14 3 5 0 0 0 2 0 21 3
1953–54 25 10 0 0 4 0 4 0 33 10
1954–55 20 5 7 1 2 1 1 0 30 7
1955–56 26 4 4 4 6 3 4 2 40 13
1956–57 20 5 6 2 11 4 2 0 39 11
1957–58 30 19 3 1 10 7 3 0 46 27
1958–59 2 1 0 0 7 6 1 0 10 7
Total 220 81 38 10 62 26 26 5 346 122
Everton 1958–59 First Division 32 7 4 3 — 0 0 36 10
1959–60 42 14 1 0 — 0 0 43 14
1960–61 40 16 1 0 5 1 0 0 46 17
1961–62 19 5 3 2 0 0 0 0 22 7
Total 133 42 9 5 5 1 0 0 147 48
Leeds United 1961–62 Second Division 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1
1962–63 41 8 3 1 0 0 0 0 44 9
1963–64 41 6 2 0 1 0 0 0 44 6
1964–65 First Division 39 9 8 0 1 1 0 0 48 10
1965–66 10 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 12 0
1966–67 ]] 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 9 0
Total 149 24 13 1 2 1 4 0 168 26
Bury 1966–67 Second Division 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
1967–68 Third Division 43 4 3 1 4 0 0 0 50 5
1968–69 Second Division 22 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 24 2
Total 75 6 3 1 4 0 0 0 84 7
Greenock Morton 1969–70 Scottish First Division 28 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 30 2
1970–71 27 1 1 0 0 0 4 0 32 1
Total 55 3 3 0 0 0 4 0 62 3
Oldham Athletic 1972–73 Third Division 7 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 9 1
Shamrock Rovers 1973–74 League of Ireland 11 1 2 0 0 0 — 13 1
Career total[20] 650 157 70 18 73 28 34 5 827 208

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Scotland 1950 3 0
1955 5 0
1956 1 0
1957 8 4
1958 7 5
1959 4 1
1965 3 0
Total[21] 30 10
Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Collins goal.
List of international goals scored by Bobby Collins
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 19 May 1957 St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland   Switzerland 2–1 2–1 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 22 May 1957 Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany  West Germany 1–0 3–1 Friendly
3 3–0
4 13 November 1957 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Wales 1–0 1–1 1958 British Home Championship
5 1 June 1958 Dziesieciolecia Stadion, Warsaw, Poland  Poland 1–0 2–1 Friendly
6 2–1
7 11 June 1958 Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden  Paraguay 2–3 2–3 1958 FIFA World Cup
8 18 October 1958 Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales  Wales 3–0 3–0 1959 British Home Championship
9 5 November 1958 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland  Northern Ireland 2–0 2–2 British Home Championship
10 27 May 1959 Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands  Netherlands 1–1 2–1 Friendly

Managerial record

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Huddersfield Town 3 July 1974 23 December 1974 23 7 4 12 030.4
Hull City 1 October 1977 10 February 1978 25 6 8 11 024.0
Barnsley 8 February 1984 25 June 1985 65 24 19 22 036.9
Total[22] 113 37 31 45 032.7

Honours

Celtic[23]

 

Leeds United[23]

Bury[23]

Individual

Notes

  1. ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the Glasgow Cup, Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, and Texaco Cup.

References

  1. ^ "Bobby Collins". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ Scottish trial match at Easter Road Archived 9 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Glasgow Herald, 4 February 1958
  3. ^ The selectors still have problems Archived 20 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Bulletin, 17 March 1959
  4. ^ Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785312458.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ "BOBBY COLLINS". Leeds United. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2014.
  6. ^ Saffer 2004, p. 11
  7. ^ Saffer 2004, p. 16
  8. ^ Saffer 2004, p. 17
  9. ^ "SFL player Robert Young Collins". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Collins, Robert Young". allfootballers.com. ((cite web)): Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. ^ Bobby Collins Obituary, The Guardian 14 January 2014
  12. ^ a b "Bobby Collins". neilbrown.newcastlefans.com. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  13. ^ "Bobby Collins Part 1 – An appreciation". mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  14. ^ "Bobby Collins Part 2 – Home grown hero". mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  15. ^ "Bobby Collins Part 3 – From Sweden to Liverpool". mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  16. ^ "Bobby Collins Part 4 – Back from the dead". mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  17. ^ "Bobby Collins Part 5 – End of the line". mightyleeds.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  18. ^ "Collins, Robert Young". Australian Player Database. OzFootball. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  19. ^ O'Henley, Alex (14 January 2014). "'Inspirational' Scot Collins mourned". UEFA. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  20. ^ Saffer 2004, pp. 188–90
  21. ^ Saffer 2004, pp. 186–87
  22. ^ Bobby Collins management career statistics at Soccerbase
  23. ^ a b c Saffer 2004, p. 191

Sources

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