Robert Thomson (29 December 1890 – 1971) was an English

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 during the early 20th century, mainly prior to

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 ...

. Playing as a forward, Thomson carved out a career in the game despite having only one eye, resulting from a childhood accident with a

firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

. When asked how he dealt with a ball coming to him on his blind side, Bob would answer: 'I just shut my other eye and play from memory.' He started out with his local side Croydon Common before joining west Londoners Chelsea in September 1911. His most successful season with Chelsea came in 1914–15, when his six goals in eight

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 ...

games helped his team reach the final, where they lost to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. When competitive football was abandoned in Britain in 1915, Thomson continued to turn out for Chelsea in unofficial wartime matches, scoring 100 goals in three seasons 1915–17. He played twice more for the club in FA cup when hostilities ended. He made a total of 95 appearances and scored 30 goals. He signed for

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

in 1921.

References

Charlton Athletic F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players English men's footballers Footballers from the London Borough of Croydon People from Croydon 1971 deaths 1890 births Men's association football forwards 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-forward-1890s-stub