Full name Bill Robinson 1936-1939 Sunderland Role Footballer | Years Team Name Bill Robinson Died October 7, 1992 | |
Date of birth (1919-04-04)April 4, 1919 Place of birth Whitburn, Northumberland, England Date of death October 7, 1992(1992-10-07) (aged 73) | ||
Bill Robinson (April 4, 1919 – October 7, 1992) was a professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Sunderland, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United.
Robinson was born in Whitburn, Northumberland, England. While at Sunderland, who he joined as an apprentice at the age of 15, and having an opportunity in the first team there was one memorable game on Saturday, March 4, 1939, just short of his 20th birthday that he scored four goals in a 5-2 win against Manchester United. This included a four-minute hat-trick starting in the 60th minute before netting his fourth near the end. This is possibly one of the fastest hat tricks on record. He then joined Charlton – where he had scored 16 goals in 51 appearances and won the FA Cup (played at the Empire Stadium 26 April - the same day as his only child Robert was born) in 1947. West Ham then signed him for a fee of £7,000. A week after signing for West Ham, who he played for between 1949 and 1952, Robinson scored on his debut, a 1-2 away win against West Bromwich Albion on 15 January 1949. He went on to make 105 appearances for the Upton Park club, and score 61 goals before finishing is playing career due to injury.
He then joined the coaching staff at West Ham United. Firstly looking after the youth team and was instrumental in helping to produce players such as Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst through the ranks to become members of the first team at West Ham eventually culminating in them playing for their country. He was then promoted to assistant manager under Ted Fenton and was responsible for coaching the first team. Under their guidance West Ham were promoted to Division One. After this success, he left to return to his native north east to become manager of Hartlepools United. This proved to be the end of his career in football due to being relieved of his duties due to the failure of the club. Subsequently it was revealed that several members of that team were taking bribes to lose. This had a devastating effect on him and he never returned to football despite many offers. He was succeeded by Allenby Chilton in 1962.