Robert Crompton (26 September 1879 – 16 March 1941) was an English professional

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 ...

. He spent the entirety of his career with his hometown club, Blackburn Rovers. He also represented

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 41 occasions, captaining them 22 times.

Playing career

Born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

, Crompton spent his entire career at full-back for Blackburn Rovers, playing 528 games between 1896 and 1920. He won the league twice as captain of the team in 1912 and 1914. In the 1915–16 season he played for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

in the regional leagues set up by the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

where he was made club captain. His 41 England caps were a record until surpassed by Billy Wright in 1952. He began his career as a centre-half, but it was at full-back that he excelled, Charlie Buchan describing him as "...the outstanding full-back of his time. A commanding personality, he was the best kicker of a ball I ever ran across."

Managerial career

Crompton later went on to manage Blackburn between 1926 and 1930, leading them to the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

victory over

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

in 1928. After a spell managing Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, Crompton returned to Rovers as manager in the late 1930s to guide them to the Second Division championship. Crompton had a heart attack in 1941 while watching Blackburn play

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

, while he was still in charge of Blackburn. His team had just won the match 3–2. He died that evening.

After retirement and legacy

Crompton was in partnership with his Blackburn Rovers teammate, the Welsh international centre-forward William Davies, as motor engineers. It was announced on 25 February 2015 via Twitter that Bob Crompton would be inducted to the Hall of Fame by the National Football Museum as a 'Historic Player'. Crompton became the first player (and manager) to be entered into the Blackburn Rovers Football Club Hall of Fame on 8 February 2019.

Honours

As a player

Blackburn Rovers * First Division: 1911–12, 1913–14

As a manager

Blackburn Rovers *

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

* Second Division: 1938–39 * Football League War Cup runner-up: 1939–40

References

External links

* *
England Player Profile: Robert Crompton
at englandfc.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Bob 1879 births 1941 deaths Footballers from Blackburn English men's footballers Men's association football defenders England men's international footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. wartime guest players English football managers Blackburn Rovers F.C. managers AFC Bournemouth managers English Football League players English Football League representative players English Football Hall of Fame inductees