Christopher Robin Anthony Napier (26 September 1943 – 31 March 2019) was a Scottish professional

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 ...

who scored 119 goals from 379 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syst ...

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

Career

Napier was born in

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

and raised in

West Linton West Linton ( gd, Liontan Ruairidh) is a village and civil parish in southern Scotland, on the A702. It was formerly in the county of Peeblesshire, but since local government re-organisation in the mid-1990s it is now part of Scottish Borders. ...

, which was then in

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and ...

. He was a nephew of Celtic player Tommy McInally. He played youth football with Linton Hotspur before joining

's ground staff straight from school and turning professional in 1960. He played twice in

before joining their arch-rivals,

, for the 1963–64 season. After a single appearance in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, and still only 20 years old, he moved on to his third club,

, newly promoted to the Third Division. He scored twice as Workington eliminated First Division

from the 1964–65 League Cup by five goals to one, and scored the equaliser as his club earned a deserved replay against eventual winners

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

in the quarter-final. Such results, added to 25 goals from 58 League matches, attracted attention. In November 1965, First Division club

paid £18,000 for Napier's services, but at the end of the season, having struggled to adapt to the higher level, he returned to Division Three with

, for an £8,500 fee. At Brighton he finally found some stability; of the six seasons he spent with the club, he was their top scorer in all but 1969–70,Carder & Harris, ''Albion A–Z'', p. 338. and helped them to runners-up spot in 1972. Though his club were promoted, Napier spent two further seasons in Division Three, with Blackburn Rovers. He then moved to South Africa, where he played for

Durban United Durban United FC was a South African football club based in Durban. Durban United FC won the Castle Cup in 1972 and played in the final in 1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing ...

and then made a career in the motor trade. He died in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa, at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Kit 1943 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Dunblane Footballers from Stirling (council area) Scottish footballers Association football forwards Blackpool F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Sportspeople from the Scottish Borders Scottish emigrants to South Africa ]