Jocky Robertson (21 May 1926 – 2004) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for Armadale Thistle, Third Lanark and

Berwick Rangers Berwick Rangers Football Club is a football team based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in England, who play in the Scottish football system. Founded in 1881, they currently play in the , the fifth tier of Scottish football, despite being ba ...

despite being of notably short height.

Early life

Jocky Robertson was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 21 May 1926. He grew up on a council estate in the

Prestonfield Prestonfield may refer to the one of following: * Prestonfield, Edinburgh, an area of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland *Prestonfield, Linlithgow, a football stadium in Linlithgow, Scotland, home of Linlithgow Rose F.C. See also *Prestonfield House ...

area of the city, and supported Heart of Midlothian. He sustained a serious injury to his hands while working in a cardboard box factory, but recovered sufficiently to resume playing as a goalkeeper.

Playing career

Robertson played in junior football for Armadale Thistle and represented the Scotland Junior international team. He joined Third Lanark in 1951 and after making his senior debut against

Airdrieonians Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in the . They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie United Football Club ...

on 2 December 1951 went on to be their first-choice goalkeeper for the next twelve years. He was part of the Third Lanark team that reached the 1959 Scottish League Cup Final, losing 2–1 against Heart of Midlothian, and then finished third in the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

in the 1960–61 season, scoring 100 goals but conceding 80. The team thereafter went into decline as talented players were sold, and Robertson was also allowed to leave, making his final appearance against

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in May 1963. A mooted

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

failed to happen, and Robertson had a short spell with

before retiring.

Style of play

At a height of , Robertson was extremely short for a goalkeeper, but was able to command the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...

due to his ability to judge when to jump for the ball and his reliability in catching. His technique of gathering the ball and going to ground in a single movement helped him cope against aggressive opponents in an era when goalkeepers could be physically challenged when in possession. He was confident facing cross balls, claiming that Charlie Church of Queen's Park was the only opponent to consistently cause him problems.

Personal life and death

After leaving professional football, Robertson worked as an upholsterer. He was married and had three children, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Robertson died in Edinburgh in 2004.

References

Notes

External links

* 1926 births 2004 deaths Footballers from Edinburgh Men's association football goalkeepers Scottish men's footballers Third Lanark A.C. players Armadale Thistle F.C. players Berwick Rangers F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Junior Football Association players Scotland men's junior international footballers 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-goalkeeper-stub