Bob Preston

Robert Preston (1895 – May 1945) was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian and in the Football League for Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United. He played as a wing half or centre half.^[2][3]

Bob Preston

Personal information
Full name	Robert Preston
Date of birth	1895
Place of birth	Loanhead, Scotland
Date of death	May 1945 (aged 49–50)[1]
Place of death	Northern Ireland
Position(s)	Wing half / Centre half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
–	Bathgate
1914–1922	Heart of Midlothian	127	(9)
1922–1923	Torquay United
1923–1928	Plymouth Argyle	143	(3)
1928–19??	Torquay United	15	(0)
Managerial career
1934–35	Sligo Rovers
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Preston signed for Heart of Midlothian from Bathgate F.C. shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.^[4][5] In November 1914 he was among the Hearts players who volunteered to join Sir George McCrae's new battalion of the Royal Scots. Military service took him away from Edinburgh for five years, so it was 1919 before he made his debut for Hearts in the Scottish League First Division. He remained with the club until the 1922–23 season.

Preston then came to England to play for Torquay United,^[6] then a Southern League club, and moved on to Third Division South club Plymouth Argyle in 1923. He made 147 appearances for the club in all competitions. His last game for Argyle came at the end of the 1927–28 season, and he returned to Torquay United, by then a Football League team, for the following season.^[3][7]

Personal life

After retiring from playing, Preston moved to Ireland and became a publican. He died in 1945.^[1]

His elder brother Thomas^[8] was also a footballer who played for Airdrieonians and was selected for the Scottish League XI.

References

1. Alexander, Jack (2004). McCrae's Battalion: The Story of the 16th Royal Scots. Mainstream Publishing/Random House. ISBN 9781845968212.
2. "Hearts player Bob Preston". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
3. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 212. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
4. Purdie, Tom (2014). Hearts: The Supreme Sacrifice to Hearts at War. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445633343.
5. John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. "1922–23". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
7. "Bob Preston". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
8. Census returns - Census - Search results, ScotlandsPeople