| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Young Collins[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1931-02-16)16 February 1931 | ||
| Place of birth | Govanhill,Glasgow, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 13 January 2014(2014-01-13) (aged 82) | ||
| Place of death | Leeds, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Polmadie Hawthorn Juveniles | |||
| Pollok | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1949–1958 | Celtic | 220 | (81) |
| 1958–1962 | Everton | 133 | (42) |
| 1960 | →Southern Suburbs (loan) | ||
| 1962–1967 | Leeds United | 149 | (24) |
| 1967–1969 | Bury | 75 | (6) |
| 1969–1971 | Greenock Morton | 55 | (3) |
| 1971 | Ringwood City | 6 | (0) |
| 1972 | Melbourne Hakoah | ||
| 1972 | Ringwood City | ||
| 1972–1973 | Oldham Athletic | 7 | (0) |
| 1973–1974 | Shamrock Rovers | 11 | (1) |
| Total | 650+ | (157+) | |
| International career | |||
| 1950–1965 | Scotland | 31 | (10) |
| 1951–1958 | Scottish League XI | 16 | (12) |
| 1958[2] | SFL trial v SFA | 1 | (0) |
| 1959–1960[3][4] | SFA trial v SFL | 2 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1974-1975 | Huddersfield Town | ||
| 1977–1978 | Hull City | ||
| 1984–1985 | Barnsley | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Young Collins (16 February 1931 – 13 January 2014) was aScotland internationalfootball player, best known for his successful spells atCeltic,Everton andLeeds United.[5]
Collins was born on 16 February 1931 inGovanhill,Glasgow, Scotland, the eldest of Tom and Bella Collins's six children.[6] He signed a contract withEverton fromPollok at the age of 17, but after a contractual dispute he eventually ended up joining Celtic instead of Everton; he was also working as an apprentice cobbler at the time.[7] He made his debut at outside-right againstOld Firm rivalsRangers on 13 August 1949, getting the better ofJock Shaw he helped Celtic to a 3–2Scottish League Cup victory.[8] Despite being just about 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) tall, Collins was a strong, hard-working midfield player who was in the Celtic team as a 17-year-old and stayed there for ten years, winning theScottish Cup in 1951, and the Scottish cup double in 1954. Affectionately known as the Wee Barra by Celtic fans, he was idolised by three generations of supporters.[citation needed] The grandfathers loved his throwback style of keeping the ball close, the dads loved his all-out action style and the kids just wanted to play like him.[citation needed] He was also called up for international duty in 1950, and maintained a frequent presence in theScotland squad in the later stages of the decade. Collins also represented theScottish League XI 16 times, scoring 12 goals.[9]
In 1958 Collins joined Everton where he played until 1962.[10]
Collins was an astute addition to the Leeds squad by managerDon Revie in 1962, helping the club avoid relegation. Revie later described Collins as his best-ever signing.[11] Leeds won promotion to theFirst Division in 1964, and Collins captained the side towards a potential League andFA Cup double a year later; however, Leeds missed out on the League on goal average toManchester United, and lost the1965 FA Cup Final toLiverpool. Collins's achievements at Leeds were recognised when he was awarded theFootballer of the Year title in 1965. His sparkling form at Leeds also won him a recall to the Scotland squad after a six-year absence, and he earned three more caps. His international career ended with 31 appearances and ten goals. Collins continued to skipper Leeds until 1966, when he suffered a horrific brokenthighbone in aFairs Cup tie againstTorino. He briefly came back from the injury, but age and a struggle to reclaim previous form brought his Leeds career to an end.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
Bury signed Collins and he stayed there for two years.[10]
During a short period back in his native Scotland withGreenock Morton, he doubled up as a scout for Revie, and recommendedJoe Jordan. Jordan went on to become a respected and feared striker with Leeds, Manchester United, Milan and Scotland. Collins' last appearance for Morton was in August 1971, in a pre-season friendly against his former clubLeeds United.
In 1972 Collins was playing coach of Australian clubRingwood City but left after a disagreement with the club board.[18]
He then had a spell as player-coach with Oldham.
Collins guested forShamrock Rovers in a friendly withManchester United atDalymount Park on 15 October 1973 and signed for The Hoops the following month making his début on the 11th atGlenmalure Park. He played a total of 13 games, 11 in the league scoring once on his second appearance at Finn Harps.[12]
Collins went into management, with spells atHuddersfield Town,Hull City andBarnsley. He also coached within the Leeds youth set-up in the 1970s and then again in the late 1990s.[19]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other[a] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Celtic | 1949–50 | Scottish First Division | 26 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 8 |
| 1950–51 | Scottish First Division | 27 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 47 | 20 | |
| 1951–52 | Scottish First Division | 30 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 42 | 16 | |
| 1952–53 | Scottish First Division | 14 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 3 | |
| 1953–54 | Scottish First Division | 25 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 10 | |
| 1954–55 | Scottish First Division | 20 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 7 | |
| 1955–56 | Scottish First Division | 26 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 40 | 13 | |
| 1956–57 | Scottish First Division | 20 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 11 | |
| 1957–58 | Scottish First Division | 30 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 46 | 27 | |
| 1958–59 | Scottish First Division | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 7 | |
| Total | 220 | 81 | 38 | 10 | 62 | 26 | 26 | 5 | 346 | 122 | ||
| Everton | 1958–59 | First Division | 32 | 7 | 4 | 3 | — | 0 | 0 | 36 | 10 | |
| 1959–60 | First Division | 42 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 43 | 14 | ||
| 1960–61 | First Division | 40 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 17 | |
| 1961–62 | First Division | 19 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 7 | |
| Total | 133 | 42 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 147 | 48 | ||
| Leeds United | 1961–62 | Second Division | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 1962–63 | Second Division | 41 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 9 | |
| 1963–64 | Second Division | 41 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 6 | |
| 1964–65 | First Division | 39 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 10 | |
| 1965–66 | First Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1966–67 | First Division | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 149 | 24 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 168 | 26 | ||
| Bury | 1966–67 | Second Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 1967–68 | Third Division | 43 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 5 | |
| 1968–69 | Second Division | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 2 | |
| Total | 75 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 7 | ||
| Greenock Morton | 1969–70 | Scottish First Division | 28 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| 1970–71 | Scottish First Division | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| Total | 55 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 62 | 3 | ||
| Oldham Athletic | 1972–73 | Third Division | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 1973–74 | League of Ireland | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | |
| Career total | 650 | 157 | 70 | 18 | 73 | 28 | 34 | 5 | 827 | 208 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1950 | 3 | 0 |
| 1955 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1956 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1957 | 8 | 4 | |
| 1958 | 7 | 5 | |
| 1959 | 4 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total[21] | 30 | 10 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 May 1957 | St. Jakob-Park,Basel, Switzerland |  Switzerland | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1958 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 22 May 1957 | Neckarstadion,Stuttgart, West Germany |  West Germany | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 3–0 | |||||
| 4 | 13 November 1957 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Wales | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1958 British Home Championship |
| 5 | 1 June 1958 | Dziesieciolecia Stadion,Warsaw, Poland |  Poland | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 2–1 | |||||
| 7 | 11 June 1958 | Idrottsparken,Norrköping, Sweden |  Paraguay | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1958 FIFA World Cup |
| 8 | 18 October 1958 | Ninian Park,Cardiff, Wales | Wales | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1959 British Home Championship |
| 9 | 5 November 1958 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland |  Northern Ireland | 2–0 | 2–2 | British Home Championship |
| 10 | 27 May 1959 | Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands |  Netherlands | 1–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 3 July 1974 | 23 December 1974 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 030.4 |
| Hull City | 1 October 1977 | 10 February 1978 | 25 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 024.0 |
| Barnsley | 8 February 1984 | 25 June 1985 | 65 | 24 | 19 | 22 | 036.9 |
| Total[22] | 113 | 37 | 31 | 45 | 032.7 | ||
Celtic[23]
Leeds United[23]
Bury[23]
Individual
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