Robert Henry Weale (16 December 1905 – 8 December 1952) was a Welsh

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 as an

outside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

for various clubs in England and Wales in the 1920s and 1930s.

Football career

West Ham United

Weale was born in

Troed-y-rhiw Troed-y-rhiw (, ) is a village and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 5,296. It features the Troed-y-rhi ...

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

and after playing youth football for

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

he was signed by

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

in March 1925. He made his first team debut on 10 October 1925, replacing Tommy Yews in a 1–0 victory over

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

. He only made three First Division appearances for the "Hammers" in his two years with the club, before being transferred to

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

in June 1927.

Swindon Town

He made his Swindon Town debut on 17 September 1927 in a Third Division South match against

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 ...

(drawn 2–2). Weale was unable to displace the long serving Bertie Denyer on the right wing and it was only in April 1928 that he had a run in the first team when he played five matches, initially on the left (replacing Alec Thom) before switching to his favoured right wing. In the following season, he replaced Denyer for a run of thirteen matches from September, in which he scored seven goals (including twice against both

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

in consecutive matches). Once Denyer returned from injury in early December, Weale was transferred to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Southampton

The "Saints" paid a then club record of £1000 to bring Weale to The Dell having been watching him for some time. He immediately replaced Bert Jepson in the No. 7 shirt and made his debut on 8 December 1928 in a 1–1 draw at Clapton Orient. A "fast, clever right winger", he made a promising start to his Southampton career, and scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

in a 4–0 victory over

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 ...

, following this with goals in the next two matches. His crosses helped the centre-forwards, Willie Haines (in 1928–29) and Dick Rowley (in 1929–30) to score 16 and 25 goals respectively. By the middle of the 1929–30 season, Weale's form had become erratic and he lost his place to Jepson. Despite this, the club offered him a new contract in the summer of 1930, with terms of £5 per week (both winter and summer) rising to £8 per week when in the first team. Weale declined the contract and decided to move back to Wales.

Later career

Weale spent the 1930–31 season with

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, for whom he made only five appearances before a spell in

non-League football 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 ...

. He subsequently played for Newport County and

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and then travelled to

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 ...

to join

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

, before finishing his career back in the lower leagues in England.

Family

His younger brother, Tom, was also a professional footballer who had an unsuccessful trial with Southampton in 1929, before joining

. He subsequently had long spells with

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

References

External links

West Ham United profileSwindon Town profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weale, Bobby 1905 births 1952 deaths Bath City F.C. players Men's association football forwards West Ham United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players People from Troed-y-rhiw Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Swindon Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Footballers from Merthyr Tydfil English Football League players Welsh men's footballers NIFL Premiership players