Robert Hope (28 September 1943 – 10 June 2022)West Bromwich Albion legend Bobby Hope dies at age of 78
/ref> was a Scottish footballer who made more than 400 appearances as a midfielder in the Football League. He spent most of his club career at West Bromwich Albion, where he played more than 300 league games and helped the club win two major trophies. He won seven caps for Scotland.

Career

Born in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, Hope played for West Bromwich Albion between 1959 and 1972, when they were a

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

side. A cultured, scheming inside-forward, he was the general in the team's midfield throughout the 1960s. Together with Clive Clark on the wing, Hope provided the ammunition for players like Tony Brown and Jeff Astle. Hope enjoyed success during this period, winning the League Cup in 1966 and FA Cup in 1968. He scored Albion's first goal in European competition when he found the net against DOS Utrecht in the

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...

on 2 November 1966. In April 1971, Hope was awarded a testimonial match against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, then managed by Ronnie Allen, who later had two short spells as Albion manager; the fixture was reciprocated in Spain a few weeks later for the benefit of José Ángel Iribar. He moved to Birmingham City in 1972, spending time on loan in the NASL with Philadelphia Atoms and

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. ...

, and later played for Sheffield Wednesday and

Bromsgrove Rovers Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. was a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference. They went into administration during the ...

. He went on to manage Bromsgrove and Burton Albion. He returned to West Brom as a scout in later years, and was appointed chief scout in 2000. Hope made seven appearances for the

Scotland national team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...

. Five of these appearances were during a 1967 overseas tour that the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

decided in October 2021 to reclassify as full internationals, which increased Hope's cap tally from two to seven. West Brom announced on 11 June that he had died on 10 June 2022, aged 78.

Honours

West Bromwich Albion * FA Cup: 1967–68 *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

: 1965–66

References

External links

*
NASL Team Rosters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Bobby 1943 births 2022 deaths People from Bridge of Allan Scottish footballers Footballers from Stirling (council area) Association football midfielders Association football inside forwards Scotland international footballers Scotland under-23 international footballers FA Cup Final players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Philadelphia Atoms players Dallas Tornado players Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. players Scottish football managers Association football scouts Burton Albion F.C. managers Scottish expatriate footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States