Bobby Blood
Blood whilst at Port Vale.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Blood | ||
| Date of birth | 18 March 1894 | ||
| Place of birth | Harpur Hill, Buxton, England | ||
| Date of death | 12 August 1988 (aged 94) | ||
| Place of death | Harpur Hill, Buxton, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Playing position | Centre-forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1909–1911 | Buxton | ||
| 1911–1913 | Buxton Lime Firms | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1913–1919 | Leek Alexandra | ||
| 1919–1921 | Port Vale | 53 | (44) |
| 1921–1924 | West Bromwich Albion | 53 | (26) |
| 1924–1927 | 42 | (15) | |
| 1927–1928 | Winsford United | ||
| 1928–1929 | Mossley | 17 | (6) |
| 1929–1930 | Ashton National | ||
| 1930–1931 | Buxton | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Robert Blood (18 March 1894 – 12 August 1988) was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward and was noted for his powerful strikes.
He played non-league football for various teams based around Buxton, and served in the Army for three years during World War I, before he started his professional career after signing for Port Vale in November 1919. He scoring 44 goals in 53 Second Division games and earned himself a £4,750 move to West Bromwich Albion in February 1921. He scored 26 goals in 53 First Division games, before moving on to for a £3,000 fee in December 1924. Three years later he signed for non-league Winsford United, later turning out for Mossley, Ashton National and Buxton.
Robert Blood was born on 18 March 1894 in Harpur Hill, Buxton; he was the youngest of ten children to John and Maria Blood, a quarry worker and housewife respectively. He followed his father and brothers to work in the Hoffman Quarry, and played non-league football for Buxton and Buxton Lime Firms. He made his debut for Leek Alexandra on 13 September 1913, and playing at outside-left scored one of Leek's six goals past Macclesfield. He scored 40 goals to help the club to win the North Staffordshire League, Staffordshire Junior Cup and Hanley Cup in the 1914–15 campaign, with six of his goals coming in one game against Stafford Rangers.
In March 1915, he volunteered to serve the 16th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in World War I. On 5 June 1916, he was injured during a raid on the Béthune Front, and nearly lost his leg. Upon his recovery he was drafted into the 7th Battalion Sherwood Foresters and returned to France in March 1917. He also represented British Army in football matches against Belgium and France, and won both the Divisional Cup and the Brigade Cup with the 7th Sherwood Foresters. He rose to the rank of Sergeant major and returned to Buxton after the Allies declared victory on 11 November 1918, and, determined to become professional footballer, managed to strengthen his leg by spending many hours kicking a ball against a steep slope next to Harpur Hill cemetery. He returned to Leek Alexandra, and played at centre-forward, scoring 11 goals in the first two months of the 1919–20 season, putting five goals past Goldenhill Wanderers and another four past Stafford Rangers.
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