Robert Paton (c. 1854 – 17 February 1905) was a Scottish

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 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) ** Smal ...

Career

Born in

Bonhill Bonhill (; ) is a town in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is sited on the Eastern bank of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven, on the opposite bank from the larger town of Alexandria, Scotland, Alexandria. ...

, Paton played club football for

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven () is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ''fie ...

, and made two appearances for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1879. He was a founder member of Vale of Leven and was part of the team that won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...

, scoring the winning goal in the final's second replay. He was still with the club when they retained the trophy in

1878 Events January * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

and

1879 Events January * January 1 ** The Specie Resumption Act takes effect. The United States Note is valued the same as gold, for the first time since the American Civil War. ** Brahms' Violin Concerto is premiered in Leipzig with Joseph Joachim ...

, but he did not take part in either of those finals. According to historical records of Queen's Park, Paton was the first player ever to score against the

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

club in January 1875.Chapter XII.—Three Historic Games
History of the Queen's Park Football Club 1867 - 1917, Richard Robinson (1920), via Electric Scotland

Personal life

Some publications assert that Daniel Paton, also an international from the same neighbourhood, was his brother, but this was found to be incorrect.

References

1850s births 1905 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Vale of Leven F.C. players Men's association football forwards Year of birth uncertain Footballers from Bonhill 19th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-forward-1850s-stub