Harry Dobinson

Harold Dobinson (2 March 1898 – 1990) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward in the Football League for Durham City, Burnley and Queens Park Rangers.[2]

Harry Dobinson
Personal information
Full name Harold Dobinson
Date of birth (1898-03-02)2 March 1898
Place of birth Darlington, England
Date of death 1990 (aged 92)
Place of death Plymouth, England
Height 5 ft 9+1⁄2 in (1.77 m)[1]
Position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Sunderland West End
1921–1922 Durham City 15 (5)
1922–1923 Burnley 2 (0)
1923–1924 Queens Park Rangers 2 (0)
1924–192? Thornley Albion
1928–19?? Heaton-on-Tyne SC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Dobinson was born in 1898 in Darlington, County Durham, the son of Thomas William Dobinson, a porter, and his wife Annie.[3][4] He attended Darlington Grammar School, where he played for the school football team, before joining the Army in 1915. He served in France with 52 Brigade Royal Field Artillery as well as playing for the Brigade's football team. After the war, he worked as a shipyard clerk, played football as an amateur for Sunderland West End, and established a reputation in Yorkshire and the north-east of England as a middle-distance runner.[5]

Dobinson signed for Durham City ahead of their first season in the Football League.[1] He made his debut on 3 September 1921, playing at centre forward in a 2–0 win at home to Southport in Durham's second match in the newly formed Northern Section of the Third Division.[6] His first Football League goal came in his sixth appearance, on 22 October in a 7–3 loss to his home-town club of Darlington, and by Christmas he had five goals from a dozen matches.[6]

Amid interest from First Division clubs including Aston Villa and Everton, Dobinson signed for Burnley on 13 January 1922,[5] for a reported fee of £600.[1] He made his top-flight debut the following day, away to Aston Villa, and the Athletic News' Birmingham correspondent "felt sorry for [the debutant], who could scarcely hope to shine in such company and on such a field".[7] He kept his place for the visit to Arsenal, which ended goalless, and thereafter played for the reserves, scoring five goals from 17 Central League matches in what remained of the season.[8][9] Dobinson's services were retained for the 1922–23 season,[10] but they were mainly employed in helping the "A" team win the North-East Lancashire Combination title.[11]

After a trial with Third Division North club Chesterfield came to nothing, Dobinson signed for Queens Park Rangers of the Southern Section in June 1923.[12] Playing in the Football Combination against West Ham United reserves in August, he trod on the ball and injured himself badly enough to be unable to train for several weeks.[13][14] He made his first-team debut on 22 October in a 3–0 defeat away to Northampton Town, but, as at Burnley, he played mainly reserve-team football. His only other league match – his last in the Football League – was away to Luton Town in February 1924.[15] At the end of the season, he returned to local football in the north-east with Thornley Albion,[16] In 1928, he was granted a permit to play for amateur club Heaton-on-Tyne SC.[17]

Dobinson married Doris Taylor in 1929.[18] The 1939 Register finds the couple living in Plymouth, Devon, where Dobinson was working as a departmental clerical officer.[19] He died in Plymouth in 1990 at the age of 92.[8][20]

References

General

  • Dykes, Garth (2010). Durham City FC in the Football League. Nottingham: SoccerData. ISBN 978-1-905891-42-9.
  • Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.

Specific

  1. Dykes (2010), p. 25.
  2. Joyce (2004), p. 75.
  3. "Harold Dobinson". England Births and Christenings, 1538–1975. Retrieved 16 May 2020 – via FamilySearch.org.
  4. "Harold Dobinson". Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. RG13/4618 71 – via Ancestry Library Edition.
  5. "Burnley's capture". The Burnley News. 14 January 1922. p. 16.
  6. Dykes (2010), p. 71.
  7. Brum (16 January 1922). "Science and vigour. The greatness of Aston Villa and Burnley". The Athletic News. Manchester. p. 5.
  8. "Dobinson, H (Harry)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  9. Kestrel (10 May 1922). "The season in review". The Burnley News. p. 3.
  10. "Players signed to date". The Burnley News. 1 July 1922. p. 5.
  11. "The season's work in review". The Burnley News. 25 April 1923. p. 8.
  12. "1922/23". CFChistory.com. Players tab. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  13. "Football notes". Chelmsford Chronicle. 31 August 1923. p. 6.
  14. "Sporting life". Daily Echo. Northampton. 26 September 1923. p. 7.
  15. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1923/24". QPRnet. Ron Norris. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  16. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1924/25". QPRnet. Ron Norris. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  17. "No first team: D". CFChistory.com. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  18. "Harold Dobinson". England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837–2005. Retrieved 16 May 2020 – via FamilySearch.org.
  19. "Harold Dobinson". 1939 England and Wales Register – via Ancestry Library Edition.
  20. "Harold Dobinson". England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837–2007. Retrieved 16 May 2020 – via FamilySearch.org.
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