Robert Allan Delgado (born 29 January 1949) is a Welsh former

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 made 281 league appearances in a ten-year career in 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 ...

. He was a versatile player with power both in the air and in the tackle. He moved from

non-League Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

Barry Town to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

in 1970 before joining

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

the following year. Following a

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

spell with

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

in 1973, he moved on to

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

. He helped the "Millers" to win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

out of the Fourth Division in 1974–75, before joining

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in October 1975 for £6,000. He was sold on to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

for £30,000 in December 1978, before leaving the English game for American club

Miami Americans The Miami Americans was an United States Soccer Federation, American soccer club based in Miami, Florida that was a member of the American Soccer League (1933-1983), American Soccer League. The team existed for only the 1980 season and played the ...

in 1980. He later had spells with English club Oswestry Town, Welsh club

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...

, and Hong Kong side

Bulova SA Bulova () was a Hong Kong football club which were dissolved after the 1984–85 season. In 1977, Bulova entered Hong Kong Third Division League and proposed a three-year plan to get promotion to First Division. In 1979–80 season, Bulova appe ...

Early life

Robert Allan Delgado was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 29 January 1949. He was the son of Pedro (known as Peter) Delgado, a native of the

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

islands, a seaman who settled in Cardiff in the early 20th century. Delgado was the first Black player to represent Carlisle United and Rotherham United in the Football League.

Career

Delgado signed for

from Barry Town in February 1970, after Harry Haslam spotted him playing for the Southern League side. However, he never took to the field at

Kenilworth Road Kenilworth Road, known affectionately as The Kenny, is a association football, football stadium in the area of Bury Park, Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The sta ...

and was moved on to

in 1971.''Where are they now? – Bob Delgado'', Chester City v Stoke City matchday programme 3/10/92, p. 20 The "Cumbrians" finished tenth in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1971–72 under Ian MacFarlane. Failing to nail down a first-team place at

Brunton Park Brunton Park is a football stadium and the home of Carlisle United. It is situated in the city of Carlisle and has a certified capacity of 17,949. The ground opened in 1909. Brunton Park's grandstand burned down in 1953 and the stadium floode ...

under new boss Alan Ashman in

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

, Delgado was

ed out to

of the Fourth Division. A move to

followed, who had just been demoted to the basement division of the

. Jimmy McGuigan guided the "Millers" to 15th in 1973–74, before the

Millmoor The Millmoor Ground, commonly known as Millmoor, is a football stadium in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was the home ground of Rotherham County between 1907 and 1925, and then its successor Rotherham United until 2008. The stadium ...

club returned to the Third Division with a third-place finish in 1974–75. He moved to league rivals

in October 1975, with

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Ken Roberts paying out a £6,000 fee. He became a favourite with the fans thanks to his 'hard man' approach. The "Seals" finished in the lower half of the table in 1975–76 and 1976–77, as new boss

Alan Oakes Alan Arthur Oakes (born 7 September 1942) is an English former footballer who holds Manchester City's all-time record for appearances. Oakes is a midfielder who, in total, played 776 matches in the Football League – the tenth-most in history ...

began to build his own team. Chester missed out on

in 1977–78 by two places and two points. Delgado left

Sealand Road Sealand Road was the home stadium of Chester City Football Club (known until 1983 as Chester Football Club) from 1906 until 1990. Although officially known simply as The Stadium, it was more commonly referred to as Sealand Road. It was much lov ...

in December 1978, when

manager

Dennis Butler Dennis Anthony Butler (born 24 June 1944) is an English former professional football player and manager. He played as a winger for Bolton Wanderers between 1959 and 1968 before ending his playing career following five years at Rochdale. Later ...

splashed out £30,000 to secure Delgado's services. He made his debut on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

in a 6–2 defeat to

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Oakwell Oakwell is a multi-purpose sports ground in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England used by Barnsley Football Club for home fixtures, and those of their reserves. As of 2023, the Barnsley F.C. Women's team also play at the stadium. While the na ...

. He played 24 games in 1978–79 and 19 games in 1979–80, as the "Valiants" had some of their poorest seasons in the Fourth Division. Delgado never showed his best form at

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

, the low point in his spell coming when he scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

in a 7–1 defeat to

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 ...

Leeds Road Leeds Road was a association football, football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 in English football, 1994–95 season. It was the home ...

. His

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

was cancelled in May 1980 by new manager John McGrath, following three months on the sidelines. He subsequently joined up with the short-lived American Soccer League side

, who only competed for the 1980 season. He then joined Welsh club Oswestry Town. He joined Hong Kong-based

for the 1983–84 season and helped the club to secure second place in the First Division League. He then returned to Britain and played for

Later life

Delgado later managed Upton AA in the

West Cheshire League The West Cheshire Association Football League (commonly known as the West Cheshire League) is an English football league in the county of Cheshire, which also includes teams from Merseyside. Its current principal sponsor is ''Carlsberg'', also s ...

and played for veterans side Chester Nomads while working as a sales manager for a travel company.

Career statistics

Honours

Rotherham United *

Football League Fourth Division The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Following the creation of the Premier ...

third-place promotion: 1974–75

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delgado, Bob 1949 births Living people Footballers from Cardiff British people of Cape Verdean descent Welsh men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Cardiff Corinthians F.C. players Barry Town United F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Welsh expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Welsh expatriate sportspeople in the United States Miami Americans players Oswestry Town F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Bulova SA players Colwyn Bay F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Hong Kong First Division League players 20th-century Welsh sportsmen