Jack Robinson

Robinson was born in Derby and began playing football for local sides Derby St Neots and Derby Midland before moving to Lincoln City in 1888. After helping the Imps win the Midland Football League in 1890 he returned to his hometown and signed for Football League side Derby County. Robinson spent six seasons at Derby, making over 180 appearances, and was a key player in their 1895–96 campaign which saw them finish as runner-up to Aston Villa. He left Derby in 1897 and spent a season with New Brighton Tower before joining South Coast club Southampton. He enjoyed a successful time with Southampton helping them to dominate the Southern League at the turn of the 20th century. As goalkeeper, Robinson was instrumental in a string of victories over top-flight sides in the F A Cup during this period, especially in getting to the 1900 FA Cup final where infighting over the selection of an out of form English forward over the in-form Roddy McLeod of Scotland led to fighting between the English and Scottish factions and ultimately led to a very disjointed team performance and a heavy defeat. Robinson was noted, during his playing career, for his reliability and was, according to author Francis Hodgson, among the first goalkeepers to dive full length to make saves. Touring eastern Europe with Southampton, Robinson played a notable role in introducing modern goalkeeping techniques to Austria and Hungary. In Prague, Southampton beat local Slavia 3–0 and Robinson's novel goalkeeping style…

Club

International

Source:

Footballer

Derby County

Football League First Division runners-up: 1895–96 Southampton

FA Cup finalists: 1900, 1902 Southern League champions: 1898–99, 1900–01, 1902–03 England

British champions: 1898, 1899, 1901, 1903 (shared)

Baseball player

Derby County

British Champions: 1895, 1897