Samuel Dobson also known as Sammy Dobson was an English

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 played as either an inside left or inside right. Born in

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

he appeared for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

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 ...

and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games a ...

Playing career

Club career

Dobson made his senior debut for

in the

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

, scoring in his first game against

Walsall Swifts Walsall Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Walsall, West Midlands, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's nickname, "The Saddlers", reflec ...

in September 1889. After one season with Crewe he moved to his home town club of

in the summer of 1890. It was with Preston that he made his

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 ...

debut; a 3–1 victory over

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

on 20 September 1889; again scoring in his first game. In the spring of 1891, Dobson was one of three players signed at the instigation of

chairman Charles Stokes who wished to use the club's relative financial power to build a strong professional team capable of success in league football. Dobson's first competitive game for The Blades came on 23 March 1891 in a 2–2 draw with

Burton Wanderers Burton Wanderers Football Club was a football club based in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The club were members of the Football League for three seasons in the mid 1890s. In 1901 they merged with Burton Swifts to form Burton Uni ...

. Considered a fine shot, Dobson was a regular during the 1891–92 season during which United competed in the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

and appeared in The Blades' first ever Football League game the following season. His appearances became more infrequent however and his last game came in October 1893. It is thought that United retained Dobson's registration until 1895, but he had retired through injury and returned to

where he became a groundsman at

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...

International career

Dobson was selected for an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

trial in February 1892 but did not attend due to illness.

Professional Baseball

In 1890 Dobson played centre field professionally for

Preston North End Baseball Club Preston North End Baseball Club were a short lived English professional baseball club, who played their home games at Deepdale, competing for the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain. Preston North End Baseball Club Limited were for ...

. in the National League of Baseball of Great Britain.

Honours

Football League Division Two The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier b ...

**Runner-up: 1892–93

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Samuel Footballers from Preston, Lancashire English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Midland Football League players Northern Football League players English baseball players Year of birth missing