Bill Robinson

Bill Robinson (4 April 1919 – 7 October 1992) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League as a centre forward for Sunderland, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United. He later became assistant manager at West Ham United and went on to manage Hartlepools United.

Career

Robinson was born in Whitburn and played for Hylton Colliery before joining Sunderland as an apprentice at the age of 15. His Sunderland debut came against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 30 August 1937 and he made 10 League appearances, scoring 3 goals in 1937–38. He then played 14 League games in 1938–39, scoring 11 goals. On 4 March 1939, just short of his 20th birthday, 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.

He made a total of 27 First Division appearances for Sunderland. However, his three in the 1939–40 season were voided due to the abandonment of the League after war broke out.

During World War II, Robinson was conscripted for national service and served with the Durham Light Infantry, once scoring four goals while playing for them against his old team Sunderland.

He officially joined Charlton Athletic, also of the First Division, in May 1946. He was part of the team that won the 1946–47 FA Cup, scoring the winner in the fourth-round, and returned to Wembley for the Final, setting up the only goal of the game for Chris Duffy. The 1947 Cup Final was played on 26 April, the day his son Robert was born. He scored 18 goals in 60 League and cup appearances for the Addicks. He followed this up with a goal in his next game, and managed 10 goals in his first 11 games, including his first of two hat-tricks for the club, against Leicester City on 15 April 1949. He ended his debut season as the club's second-highest scorer behind Ken Wright. At this point, he was fourth in West Ham's all-time goalscorers list, behind Vic Watson, Jimmy Ruffell and Syd Puddefoot. In all, Robinson made 105 appearances and scored 61 goals for the Upton Park club.

Robinson stayed at West Ham United following his injury. He was initially given the task of providing opposition reports to Ted Fenton and the management team. He then joined the coaching staff, looking after the youth team and helping to produce players such as Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst.

The 1961–62 season proved to be his last in football. Robinson was sacked after Hartlepools finished 22nd in the Fourth Division and narrowly avoided relegation. He left the role on 30 June 1962 and was succeeded by Allenby Chilton, an old Hylton friend and former Charlton teammate during the war. First Division

1947–48 First Division

1948–49 First Division

52 16 8 2 0 0 60 18

1948–49

1951–52