Bolt Bobby Image 1 Falkirk 1936

Description

Lochgelly, Fife born right half Bobby Bolt started his football career with junior clubs Kelty Old Boys in 1932 and played for Rosslyn Juniors from March 1933 from where he was signed by First Division club Heart of Midlothian in July 1933, making his Scottish League debut against Hibernian at Tynecastle that September, scoring in his only other Jambos appearance in a friendly at Montrose in August 1934, before being sold to Dunfermline Athletic having initially joined them on loan in November 1934.

After three seasons at East End Park, scoring twice in 92 appearances, he joined Falkirk in June 1937. After 8 goals in 76 appearances for The Bairns over the next two seasons Bolt briefly moved to America to play in the American Soccer League before returning to Scotland to join Glasgow Rangers in July 1939, where he made 5 appearances during 1939-40 when his career was severely interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. During the War he was selected for Scotland in an international against a League of Ireland XI in 1940, but would never receive a full cap for his country.

He signed for Third Lanark in September 1944 and when peacetime football resumed he played 21 times for Third Lanark in 1946-47 before re-joining Falkirk, where he scored twice in 21 appearances during 1947-48 and he also played in their Scottish League Cup Final defeat to East Fife in a replay at Hampden Park in October 1947, before moving to Highland League club Caledonian, now Inverness Caledonian Thistle, in the 1948 close season. The Caley Thistle proved his final club ahead of his eventual retirement in 1952, before which he had played against Dundee United in the Scottish Cup in January 1952, the day after his 40th birthday.

His son Bobby Bolt Jr also later played for Caledonian.