Christie Robert Image 1 Queen’s Park 1905

Description

Dunblane, Stirlingshire born outside left or left half Robert Christie began his career with Dunblane and Edinburgh University and won the 1882-83 East of Scotland Shield with the latter. He joined Queen’s Park in September 1883 and in a short, but eventful career with The Spiders, he scored in their 2-1 1884 FA Cup Final defeat to Blackburn Rovers at The Kennington Oval, his goal coming before half time, so becoming the only Scot to score for a Scottish club in an FA Cup Final and until Norman Whiteside 99 years later, the youngest goalscorer in an FA Cup Final.

Christie scored as Queen’s Park won the 1886 Scottish Cup Final, Queen’s Park beating Renton 3-1 at Caithkin Park and he also won two Glasgow Merchants Charity Cups with wins over Third Lanark in 1884 and Dumbarton in 1885. He also won a single international cap for Scotland when he played in a 1-0 victory over England at Caithkin Park in March 1884.

However a serious knee injury forced Christie into an early retirement at age 21 and after a one-off comeback appearance in a Scottish Cup defeat at Third Lanark in October 1888, he finished his Queen’s Park career with 28 appearances and 15 goals including Merchants’ Charity Cup ties. He returned to play for Dunblane and won the Perthshire Cup with them in 1889 before retiring.

Christie was elected to represent Perthshire at the SFA and after his retirement from football, Christie remained with Dunblane as the club’s secretary. He became president of the SFA in 1903. Christie also administered Dunblane’s first golf club and also represented Scotland at curling.

Christie served as a Captain in The Black Watch during the Second Boer War and enlisted in The Highland Light Infantry after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. He was later attached to The Royal Scots Fusiliers and saw action on the Western Front and in Salonika. Christie was seconded to the Labour Corps and was an acting Lieutenant Colonel when his company was shelled with mustard gas while cable-laying near Foncquevillers, France on 11th May 1918. He survived for four days before dying aged 52 in a Red Cross hospital in Rouen. Christie is buried in Rouen’s St. Sever Cemetery.

His younger brother Alex Christie was also a Scottish international who played for Dunblane, St Bernard’s and Queen’s Park between 1894 and 1903.