Bobby Park

[Oscar Arce]

Sadly passed away this week after a battle with cancer.
Remember him from my first trips to Villa Park Central League games, he played over 80 games for the first team.

[bob rowe]

Was considered for Scotland under 23s at one time even though he came from County Durham. Played some good games for us. R I P Bobby.

[SteveN]

Sad news, may he rest in peace. I remember him well, he was playing at a time when I went to nearly every home and reserve home game. A big part of my youth.

[wittonwarrior]

A few seasons before my time - I can  tell you he was Scottish and  was an attacking midfield player. 

But once   the  Villa has touched you, you become a saint unless your name is Delph.

RIP Bobby

[dave shelley]

Sorry to hear about that, I remember him very well.  I hate to buck the trend but, although a great trier and I always appreciate that, he wasn't very good.  Just my opinion of course.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

He was in and out the team when I started watching in 1966. As Dave Shelley says he wasn't that good, but at that time there were plenty in our side like that.

Moved to Wrexham after us and there is a good piece on him on their site.

It was with deep sadness that we learnt of the passing of former Wrexham midfielder Bobby Park on Tuesday morning, 23 July 2019, losing his fight with cancer at the age of 72.
Bobby will never be forgotten for the part that he played in Wrexham’s midfield of the 1969/70 promotion winning season, as well as featuring in the memorable cup matches at both Old Trafford and Anfield against Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.
Although he was born in Edinburgh, Bobby's family moved to Peterlee in County Durham when he was still a young child, and it was that same area that he and his family returned to after his playing days were over.
Growing up in County Durham, Bobby impressed at schoolboy football, earning selection at 14 for East Durham Schoolboys in the English Schools Trophy, and appearing in the same side as Colin Bell, who later played for Manchester City and England.
Around this time he signed schoolboy forms for Middlesbrough, but his football career stalled upon leaving school as the Ayresome Park club decided against offering him an apprenticeship, and he took up work at the Darlington wool firm, Paton & Baldwins, continuing to play for the works’ side in their local league.
It was whilst playing for them that an employee of the company, who had connections at Villa Park, recommended him to Aston Villa, and he was subsequently invited for a two-week trial.
At the end of the trial, Bobby left the North-East having made the big decision to follow his ambition of becoming a professional footballer by signing as an apprentice with Aston Villa.
Bobby was soon to progress and make an impression when he earned his Football League debut in September 1964 against Sheffield Wednesday in a 2-0 home win. A few days later, he scored the only goal in a 1-0 League Cup victory over Luton Town.
The season ended on a high note, scoring the winner in a 2-1 home victory over Manchester United. Although he was never regarded as a regular at Villa Park, he still made over 80 appearances for the ‘Villains’.
Tommy Docherty's arrival as manager during 1968/69 saw the end of Bobby's career in the Midlands, as he was released in the summer, but following a recommendation from Jimmy Dugdale to his former Villa teammate John Neal, the Wrexham manager snapped Bobby up.
He went straight into the then 'Robins' side for the opening match of the new season against Exeter City, a 3-0 home win on 9 August 1969, in a team that consisted of some great Wrexham players such as Dave Gaskell, Steve Ingle, Alan Bermingham, Gareth Davies, Eddie May, Mickey Evans, Arfon Griffiths, Ray Smith, Albert Kinsey and Stuart Mason, a line-up that went on to celebrate promotion for only the second time in the club’s history the following May, as runners-up in Division Four.
As already mentioned, during this period Bobby was involved in the Club's memorable cup matches against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and Liverpool at Anfield, whilst the following season saw him play in Wrexham's Welsh Cup Final defeat by Cardiff City, as Bobby helped the North Wales club to consolidate their position in the Third Division.
Mid-way through 1971/72 Bobby found himself out of favour, having made 125 appearances for Wrexham and scoring eight goals - his first in a 3-0 win against Southend United in the promotion season. Bobby was allowed to join Peterborough United on a free transfer in June, but he couldn't settle at London Road, and within eight months he was on the move again to Northampton Town in February 1973.
At the end of that campaign, Bobby signed for a further year at the County Ground where he was to make 24 league appearances for the ‘Cobblers’ before returning to the north-East at the end of the 1973/74 season to join Hartlepool United.
Bobby spent one season at the Victoria Ground, making 17 league appearances before leaving professional football at the end of that season to become player/manager of Easington CW in 1975.
He continued to be involved with the game by serving Easington for five years before accepting a position as assistant-manager at Peterlee Newtown, where he was to spend a further ten years.
Having retired from professional football, Bobby had begun working in the credit business, firstly as a traveller, before gaining promotion to area manager of a National company and only leaving that role in 1993 to become General Manager of a family credit company in Sunderland.
Bobby had settled in the North-East at Peterlee and it was with his close family with him, that he passed away. Our condolences go out to Bobby’s wife and children.

https://www.wrexhamafc.co.uk/news/rip-bobby-park

[Woofles The Wonder Dog]

Sorry to hear about that, I remember him very well.  I hate to buck the trend but, although a great trier and I always appreciate that, he wasn't very good.  Just my opinion of course.

Agreed. I associate him with the gutless efforts that saw us relegated. I'm sorry he's dead and condolences to his family, but in the pantheon of Villa players I've seen play since 1963 he vies for a place near the bottom.

[SteveN]

Sorry to hear about that, I remember him very well.  I hate to buck the trend but, although a great trier and I always appreciate that, he wasn't very good.  Just my opinion of course.

Agreed. I associate him with the gutless efforts that saw us relegated. I'm sorry he's dead and condolences to his family, but in the pantheon of Villa players I've seen play since 1963 he vies for a place near the bottom.

I remember the players as individuals but struggle to remember who played with them.  He wasn't very good but in his defence most of the teams we had around that time were pretty poor.

[villa `cross the mersey]

Sad to read of Bobbys passing - like others on here I remember him from my early years watching the Villa and our reserves- most players at that time lacked quality which lead to many lean years
Nice write up by Wrexham

[Nelson Lodge]

Sad to see another player I remember from the '60s pass away, especially when younger than I am.
The '60s were a decade of decline which I will never forget.

If memory serves Bobby broke a collar bone in one match, went off and returned with his shoulder and arm strapped up to complete the rest of the match out on the wing. The days before substitutes and in a season before 1966 as my brother and I were in the standing enclosures of  the old Witton Lane stand.