Robert "Bob" Fullam (1895–1971) was an Irish

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 ...

and one of the best-known players in the

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

in the 1920

A versatile attacking player, he was skilful but also had a tough-man image. Born in

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

, the son of John and Mary Fullam, Bob worked as a docker in Dublin, and played for

Shelbourne F.C. Shelbourne Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Shíol Bhroin) is an Irish association football club based in Drumcondra, Dublin, who play in the League of Ireland Premier Division. Shelbourne were founded in Dublin in 1895. In 1904 the club joine ...

1918–21, winning the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. I ...

in 1920. He then transferred to

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

and played in the inaugural Free State Cup final in 1922. In that match, his skirmishes with

Charlie Dowdall Charles Dowdall (7 April 1898 – 7 November 1987) was an Irish footballer. He played for several clubs in both the League of Ireland and the English League and was also capped at international level by Ireland. He was born in Dublin. Club care ...

of eventual champions

St. James's Gate F.C. St James's Gate Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Drimnagh/Crumlin, Dublin. They played in the League of Ireland between 1921–22 and 1943–44 and again from 1990–91 until 1995–96. Gate were the inaugural win ...

helped provoke post-match disturbances involving players and supporters. This led to a ban for the start of the following season. Nevertheless, he finished top scorer with 27 goals in 22 games, as Rovers won their first League title. He transferred to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

for 1923–24 but played only seven games. He returned to Rovers the next season, helping them to

the Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, as "give it to Bob" became a Dublin catchphrase. In the 1926 Cup final, he famously pulled out of a goalmouth challenge, sacrificing a goal (and the Cup) to prevent injuring the Fordsons goalkeeper. Fullam made his debut for the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independ ...

against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

in 1926; he scored in the return match against Italy in 1927. As he was now 30, and the selectors had a preference for young players, this second cap was his last. He continued to play for Shamrock Rovers into the early 1930s. In 1927/28 he went to the United States along with Dinny Doyle and several other players from both North and South. Upon their arrival in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, they formed their club which was known as Irish

Philadelphia Celtic Philadelphia Field Club is a name used by four soccer teams based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All four versions of Philadelphia F.C. competed in the first American Soccer League, but none were in any way related to the other three teams whi ...

. After a year Bob returned to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

where he renewed his association with Rovers. After his playing days, Bob continued with the Hoops as a coach, a capacity he held until his departure to London in 1945. His time with Rovers was littered with medals. He won the League and the

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

4 times scoring 92 league goals and 9 Cup goals along with 6 Inter-League caps. In 1956 Bob was awarded damages in a libel case taken against the ''

Sunday Dispatch The ''Sunday Dispatch'' was a prominent British newspaper, published between 27 September 1801 and 18 June 1961. It was ultimately discontinued due to its merger with the ''Sunday Express''. History The newspaper was first published as the ''Wee ...

'' for a story that the journalist admitted making up. During his time at Shamrock Rovers Fullam played alongside his second cousin

Billy Behan William Behan (8 August 1911 – 12 November 1991) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers and Manchester United during the 1930s. He made his Rovers debut on 8 February 1931 in a 5–1 win over Br ...

who later became a successful scout for

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Fullam died in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, ...

on 21 July 1971.Evening Herald page 16 22 July 1971

Honours

;

: 4 ** 1922–23, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1930–31 *

: 4 ** 1925, 1929, 1930, 1931 *

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season bega ...

: 3 ** 1924–25, 1926–27, 1931–32 * Leinster Senior Cup: 4 ** 1923, 1927, 1929, 1930 * Leinster Senior League: 1 ** 1921–22 ;Individual * League of Ireland Top Scorer: ** 1922–23 (27 goals).

References

* *

External links

PictureBob Fullam and the Great K.O.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fullam, Bob Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers League of Ireland players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. managers League of Ireland managers Shelbourne F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players English Football League players Association footballers from Dublin (city) 1895 births 1974 deaths League of Ireland XI players Leinster Senior League (association football) players Association football forwards Republic of Ireland football managers