The Scottish Connection

Tommy Docherty -- Willie Cunningham -- Bobby Beattie -- Bill Shankly

Bobby Beattie

Position: Forward
Born: 24th January 1916
Other clubs: Kilmarnock, Wigan Athletic
Honours: FA Cup Winner 1938, League War Cup Winner 1941

Bobby Beattie was born on the 24th January 1916 in Stevenston, Scotland.

He began his career at Kilmarnock before signing for North End in October 1937 for a fee of £2,250. He made his debut for North End in a 2-1 win over Stoke on 9th October.

Bobby made a great impact at North End after signing. During the rest of the 1937/38 season he made 37 appearances, scored 11 goals and set up numerous others. Overall his 'first season' turned out rather successful as North End finished 3rd in Division One and won the FA Cup - a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town at Wembley.

In September 1938 Bobby hit the consolation goal as North End lost 2-1 to Arsenal in the Charity Shield at Highbury.

The following season Bobby scored another 11 goals and earned a call up to the Scotland squad for a game against Wales. He played his part in a 3-2 win for the Scots, but unfortunately this was his only cap.

Following the suspension of the league during World War 2, a competition was set up called the War Cup. North End beat Arsenal after a replay at Ewood Park (the first game finished 1-1 at Wembley). Bobby scored both goals. In fact Bobby scored first, then Arsenal equalised a few minutes later thanks to an own goal but thankfully Bobby got the winner just 30 seconds later!

Bobby continued to be a regular for at least the next seven seasons and one of his finest moments came when he scored a hat-trick in the 6-1 rout of Middlesbrough on 4th September 1948.

His last game for North End came in the 3-2 loss to Blackpool at Deepdale in 1953. He then moved on for a short spell at Wigan Athletic before returning to Scotland.