| Bobby Ferrier |
| see also: Bobby Ferrier (opposition manager) → |
 Robert Ferrier was born on Monday, 14th August, 1899, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The 5' 8 (11st 4lbs) forward appeared as a guest for George Easton's Thistle in August, 1918, whilst a Motherwell player. Aged 18, he made his only appearance on Saturday, 10th August, 1918, in a 2-1 defeat away to Motherwell in a Benefit match. There were no goals for Bobby in his one-off appearance for Thistle. His club-list included Dumbarton Athletic, Petershill, Motherwell, Partick Thistle and Mid-Annandale. Bobby died on Monday, 19th April, 1971, in Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, aged 71. |
 This renowned Motherwell outside left holds the record for most appearances in the Scottish Football League (626), and is one of the SFL's all-time top ten goalscorers (255). He was captain of the side that won Motherwell's only league championship to date, in 1931–32, besides playing in two Scottish Cup finals (1931 and 1933, both lost to Celtic). Ferrier represented the Scottish League XI in seven inter-league matches, scoring five goals. After retiring as a player in 1937, he became Motherwell assistant manager and later managed Airdrieonians and Ayr United. In October 2021, 104 years after first signing on at Fir Park, it was announced that Ferrier was to be inducted into the Motherwell F.C. Hall of Fame. The 18-year-old had just collected a gold medal with Junior Cup winners Petershill, and had yet to make his Motherwell debut when he “switched sides” to Partick Thistle for the opening game (for charity) of the 1918-19 season. As the Sunday Post tells, “Ferrier opened well for Partick, and he, Whittle, Gray and Marshall were quite the pick of the visiting forwards. The second-half opened with some nice wing work on the part of Whittle and Gray, with an occasional sparkler from Ferrier.” Even at that early stage, the signs were there, and it wouldn't be too long until Bobby rose to prominence at Fir Park. His shot would come to be described as “the despair of goalkeepers”. His father, likewise named Robert and known as Bob, was also a footballer. The older Ferrier achieved success playing for Sheffield Wednesday in the early 1900s. It was during this spell in Yorkshire that his son was born, and although the family moved back to Scotland and young Bob played all his football there, he was ineligible to play for the Scottish national team under the rules of the time due to his birthplace. His own son, another Bob, was a sports journalist. Additionally, his uncle Willie Speedie (brother of Scottish international Finlay Speedie) and nephew, Bob Speedie, played for the families' hometown club, Dumbarton. Bobby is laid to rest at Dumbarton Cemetery. |
| (WS/WIK/JK) |
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