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Fullname: Robert Davidson
aka: Bob Davidson
Born: 1876
Died: 21 April 1935, Brisbane
Birthplace: West Calder (poss. Whitburn)
Signed: 28 June 1898 (from Dykehead)
Left: 9 Aug 1902 (to Man City)
Position: Full-Back
Debut: Celtic 1-2 Hibernian, League, 27 Sep 1898
Internationals: N/A
International Caps: N/A
Biog
Robert ‘Bob’ Davidson was a whole-hearted full-back who joined Celtic in June 1898 from Dykehead.
In “The Alphabet of the Celts” it was quoted that:
“I don’t suppose Celtic ever had a player whose heart was so much in the team or one more anxious to see his side win. No one bears a Celtic loss more hard”.
That is enough to make you love this old player.
His debut came in a 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian on September 27th 1898 and over the next three years West Calder-born Davidson was to prove a faithful and committed player. He was in competition with fullbacks like Welford, Storrier and Dan Doyle, so not easy. Sadly, due to the competition he missed out on the cup final v Rangers in April 1899.
Poor luck and misfortune hit him again when in going for the cup final in April 1900, he missed out again due to a knee wrench two days before, but Celtic won him a medal.
It is claimed that his brother Andy Davidson won a FA Cup medal for Bury v Southampton, but this has not been confirmed and needs checked if true (and if he had a brother by that name), see note below.
He was to be a near ever present in the 1900-01 season, missing just the one league game, and played in the 4-3 loss to Hearts in the Scottish Cup final of 1901. As a measure of his commitment, in the semi-final v St Mirren, he was knocked unconscious in the 20th minute, and insisted on playing on when he recovered; Celtic won 1-0. Nowadays it will be seen as foolhardy in light of accumulated evidence, but shows also how much it all meant to him to play.
Biggest problem with his ability was a bit of lack of pace, a problem for a full-back.
Probably one of the best moments was when he played in the British League Cup Final of 1901-02 when Celtic beat Rangers in the final by 3-2 in extra-time. However, some notes claim it was Hugh Watson who played in this match and not Bobby Davidson.
He played a total of 56 times in the league & Scottish Cup for Celtic, and had a loan spell for Belfast Celtic, before he was signed by Tom Maley at Manchester City on 9th August 1902.
Reading up on him, he was a wonderful Celt who was unfortunate in some ways. He does though very much warm your heart.
Post-Celtic
Later moved to Australia. When Robert arrived in Brisbane a representative of Bulimba Rangers Football Club was on the dock to meet him and although there are no records from that time old newspapers indicated that he played at least two seasons for them. He also started a carrying business using Clydesdale horses and drays, this he called R. DAVIDSON AND SONS.
He passed away in 1935.
N.B. – Additional info on his passing and post-Celtic provided by a relative, although note he questions whether Bob Davidson had a brother called Andy, so needs checked.
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 1898-1902 | 43 | 13 | N/A | N/A | 56 |
| Goals: | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
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