Robert George Milne (1 October 1870 – 2 November 1932) was a

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 for the

Gordon Highlanders The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Go ...

, Linfield and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

during the 1890s and early 1900s.Shamrock on Blue
Scots Football Worldwide Born in Scotland, Milne was stationed in Ireland with the Gordon Highlanders and played seven games for the regimental football team as they won the

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Clearer Water Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary Association football, football single elimination, knockout cup compet ...

in 1890. He subsequently signed for Linfield and played 43 games and scored 19 goals for the club in the same competition and winning a total of 39 honours over 20 years. Between 1894 and 1906, Milne made 27 appearances and scored two goals for Ireland. On 3 March 1894, at the

Solitude Ground Solitude is a Association football, football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the oldest football stadium in Ireland, and the home ground of Ireland's oldest football club, Cliftonville F.C., Cliftonville. The stadium holds 6,224, but ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Milne, together with Olphert Stanfield, was a member of the Irish team that finally avoided defeat to

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 ...

after thirteen attempts. Against an England side that included Fred Spiksley and Jack Reynolds, Ireland came back from 2–0 down to gain a 2–2 draw. Milne was also captain of Ireland during the 1903 British Home Championship. Until then the competition had been monopolised by England and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

but in 1903, before

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

was applied, Ireland forced a three-way share. With a team that also included

Archie Goodall Archibald Lee Goodall (3 January 1865 – 20 November 1929) was an Irish footballer who made 429 appearances in the Football League for Preston North End, Aston Villa, Derby County, Glossop and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He won 10 caps at full ...

Jack Kirwan John Henry Kirwan (December 2 1872 – 7 January 1959) was an Irish football player and coach. As a player, he was described as an out and out winger with good pace and skills, playing as an outside-left for, among others, Everton, Tottenham ...

, Billy Scott and

Billy McCracken William Robert McCracken (29 January 1883 – 20 January 1979) was an Irish footballer who played as a defender. He is famous for inventing the offside trap. He was a cousin of Robert McCracken who also had a career as a professional football ...

, Ireland beat both

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and Scotland 2–0. This was also the first time Ireland had beaten Scotland.

Honours

Gordon Highlanders *

Winners: 1890 Linfield * Irish League Winners: 1890–91, 1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1897–98, 1901–02, 1903–04, 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09 **Runners Up: 1893–94, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1902–03 *

Winners: 1891, 1892, 1893, 1895, 1898, 1899, 1902, 1904 **Runners Up: 1894 *

City Cup The City Cup was a rugby league competition involving Australian premiership teams. The post season tournament was a regular feature in the years 1912–1925. City Cups were also played in 1937, 1942 and 1959. The inaugural city cup was conteste ...

Winners: 1895, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1908 **Runners Up: 1899 *

County Antrim Shield The County Antrim & District Football Association Senior Shield (more commonly known as the County Antrim Shield) is a football competition in Northern Ireland. The competition is open to senior teams who are members of the North East Ulster F ...

Winners: 1899, 1904, 1906, 1907 **Runners Up: 1896, 1897, 1898, 1903, 1905 *

Belfast Charity Cup The Belfast Charity Cup was a football competition which ran from 1883 to 1941, and was based on a similar tournament in Scotland, the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup. The competition was open to senior sides from Belfast and invited intermediate te ...

Winners: 1891, 1892, 1893, 1895, 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905 **Runners Up: 1890, 1900, 1902, 1907, 1908 Ireland *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by the Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, marking the end of the Aceh War that have lasted for al ...

(shared)

References

External links

Irish Cup appearances Irish Cup goals
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, Robert Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Linfield F.C. players 1870 births 1932 deaths Men's association football forwards Footballers from Angus, Scotland Irish association footballers (before 1923) Gordon Highlanders soldiers Irish League representative players Scottish men's footballers Scottish soldiers NIFL Premiership players 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from Angus, Scotland