Robert Humphrey Lee "Bob Lee" Roberts (1868 – 2 March 1943) 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 at full back for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in the 1880s and 1890s. He made one appearance for

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 ...

Football career

Roberts was born in

Beaumaris Beaumaris (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community on the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey fro ...

on the island of

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, but had joined

by 1888, where he became team captain. His only international appearance came on 8 February 1890 against

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 ...

at the Old Racecourse,

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, when he was called up in the absence of Di Jones. The match ended in a 5–2 victory for the Welsh. During Roberts' time at Chester, the club helped found

The Combination The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across Northern England and the Midlands, and was disbanded before completion. The second ...

in 1890, finishing in third place in the inaugural season. In 1891, Roberts moved to London to take up employment with Shoolbreds, a large

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

in Gower Street. He joined the newly formed

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club () was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

club shortly after his arrival in the capital, and was converted into a free-scoring

centre forward 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 be ...

. One report commented: "His play is remarkable for unnerving judgement, together with great speed... besides being a good dribbler, he is a fine shot at goal and keeps his team together well." In 1892, his career was interrupted by a broken leg, but he made a full recovery enabling him to score seven goals in one match for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

against United Hospitals in 1894.

References

1868 births 1943 deaths People from Beaumaris Sportspeople from Anglesey Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football forwards Chester City F.C. players Brentwood Town F.C. players London Welsh F.C. players {{Wales-footy-bio-stub