Wilson Bob Image 1 Third Lanark 1922

Description

Bellshill, Lanarkshire born centre half Bob Wilson began his football career with Cambuslang Rangers from where he joined Scottish League First Division club Third Lanark in 1921, scoring twice in 40 appearances for The Warriors over a three year period at Cathkin Park. In the summer of 1923 he took part in the club’s tour of South America and three months later featured on the losing side in the Glasgow Cup Final, however he made only four league appearances that season and moved on to Third Division (North) club Bradford Park Avenue in October 1924.

He changed position on joining Bradford lining up at centre forward, scoring on his Football League debut in a 2-0 win at Walsall in November 1924. He scored in each of his first seven matches for The Avenue, and in his seventh he plundered 4 goals in a 7-1 thrashing of Ashington that December. Wilson’s 25 goals in 32 appearances left him as comfortably the club’s leading goalscorer as Bradford finished fifth in the division.

In late 1925 Wilson joined the stream of professional footballers moving to the United States to play in the nascent American Soccer League, reverting to a more defensive position and initially featuring for newcomers, the Shawsheen Indians, where he scored 3 goals in 20 appearances before switching to the Fall River Marksmen in time to play a part in the back end of their 1925-26 American Soccer League title-winning campaign.

He remained with Fall River for two further seasons, winning the 1927 National Challenge Cup with a 7-0 win over Holley Carburetor, lining up alongside several other Scots including another former Third Lanark player Charlie McGill, scoring 4 goals in 74 appearances for The Marksmen. After a single trial appearance in the ASL for Bethlehem Steel in 1928, Wilson transferred to Pawtucket Rangers (also known as J. & P. Coats) for the 1928-29 season, scoring 3 goals in 8 matches, which proved his last season in the league.