Robert Hugh McNicol[a] (13 February 1933 – 25 April 1980) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a full back. He made 56 Scottish League appearances for Stirling Albion and 228 in the English Football League playing for Accrington Stanley, Brighton & Hove Albion and Carlisle United.[1][3]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Robert Hugh McNicol[a] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 13 February 1933||
Place of birth | Cumbernauld, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 25 April 1980[1] | (aged 47)||
Place of death | Tenerife,[1] Spain | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Full back | ||
Youth career | |||
Vale of Leven Academy FP | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Vale of Leven | |||
1953–1956 | Stirling Albion | 56 | (1) |
1956–1959 | Accrington Stanley | 134 | (5) |
1959–1962 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 93 | (0) |
1962–1963 | Gravesend & Northfleet | ||
1963–1964 | Carlisle United | 1 | (0) |
1964–19?? | Stalybridge Celtic | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Life and career
editMcNicol was born in 1933 in Cumbernauld, Scotland,[2] and attended Vale of Leven Academy.[4] He went on to train as a carpenter and played football for his school's Former Pupils team, from where he joined junior club Vale of Leven. He was a member of their team that won the 1952–53 Scottish Junior Cup;[5][6] the match programme described him as "a strong, resolute defender who has a senior future if desired".[4] His senior future began forthwith: he joined Stirling Albion for the 1953–54 Division One season, and made 56 appearances in the top flight while completing his National Service obligations with the RAF.[3][2]
After three years, McNicol moved to England to join Accrington Stanley of the Third Division North. He made 147 consecutive appearances in league and cups, a run ended when he broke a toe while playing in goal.[2] He signed for Third Division club Brighton & Hove Albion in June 1956, but despite making 99 appearances in all competitions, he failed to settle, twice submitted transfer requests, and was eventually allowed to leave on a free transfer in July 1962. He helped Gravesend & Northfleet of the Southern League reach the fourth round of the 1962–63 FA Cup, in which they were eliminated by Sunderland only after a replay. He attempted a return to the Football League with Carlisle United, but appeared only once, and ended his football career with Stalybridge Celtic.[2]
He became a newsagent, and later worked in the family haulage business.[2] In 1980, McNicol and members of his family died in the Dan-Air Flight 1008 crash in Tenerife.[5][2]
Notes
edit- ^ a b Some recent database sources, including Hugman's Football League Player Records and related sources such as Neil Brown's site and the ENFA website,[1][3][7] spell the surname McNichol. However, contemporary sources including the match programme for the 1953 Scottish Junior Cup Final,[4] the Glasgow Herald's match report,[6] and multiple newspaper reports of the player's career, have McNicol without an "h", as do other recent sources such as Carder and Harris's Albion A–Z.[2] That spelling is supported by primary sources, including death and probate records.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Bob McNicol". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Carder, Tim; Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-9521337-1-1.
- ^ a b c "Bob McNichol". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ a b c Scottish Junior Cup Final Tie. Official Programme (JPG). 25 May 1953.
- ^ a b "Senior Football Players from the Vale of Leven in the 20th Century". Vale of Leven History Project. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Scottish Junior Cup Final". Glasgow Herald. 25 May 1953. p. 9.
- ^ "Player search". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- ^ "Results for Civil Deaths & Burials in Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records: Robert Mcnichol 1980". Findmypast. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "Wills and Probate 1858–1996: Mcnichol 1981". Probate Service. Retrieved 21 September 2018.