Robert McFaul Campbell (13 September 1956 – 15 November 2016) was a Northern Irish international footballer who played as a centre forward.
Club career
Born in Belfast, Campbell started his career at Aston Villa, making his professional debut in April 1974. He failed to establish himself in the first team, making 10 league appearances for the club before being sold to Huddersfield Town in May 1975. He joined Sheffield United in 1977, but left the club after just one season. He briefly returned to Huddersfield Town for a second spell before signing for Halifax Town.
In December 1979, he joined Bradford City. He made over 300 appearances for the club, and became the club's all-time leading goalscorer with a total of 143 goals. Whilst at Bradford he won promotion from Division Four in the 1981–82 season and the Football League Division Three title in 1984–85, the latter of which paled into insignificance when 56 spectators were killed in a stand fire while playing Lincoln City in the final game of the season.
Campbell left Bradford in 1986 and joined Wigan Athletic, where he finished his playing career. In 1986–87, Campbell finished as Wigan's top goal scorer with 20 goals, helping the club to reach the quarter-final of the FA Cup for the first time in its history. He was the club's top scorer again with a further 16 goals in the 1987–88 season, most notably scoring a hat trick against local rivals Bolton Wanderers at Burnden Park in the first round of the League Cup.
International career In 1975, Campbell was selected to play for the Northern Ireland youth team at the European Under-18 Championship in Switzerland, but was sent home, along with teammate Bertie McMinn, after being involved in a car crash. The Irish FA subsequently banned both players from representing the country at all levels. After several attempts to overturn the decision, including a petition from supporters, the ban was eventually lifted in 1981.
In April 1982, Campbell was included in the Northern Ireland squad for the upcoming British Home Championship, and was subsequently capped twice during the tournament. He was also selected by his country for the 1982 FIFA World Cup later that year, but failed to make an appearance.
Post-retirement After retiring from football in 1988, Campbell worked as a steward at a working men's club in Huddersfield. In 2013, he was dismissed by the club after he and his wife were accused of fraud, but the charges were dropped after the case was taken to court.
On 15 November 2016, Campbell was found dead after hanging himself in his garage.
Career statistics + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupLeague CupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAston Villa1973–74Second Division31000000311974–75Second Division7000200090Total101002000121Halifax Town (loan)1974–75Third Division150000000150Huddersfield Town1975–76Fourth Division1110031001421976–77Fourth Division208000000208Total3190031003410Sheffield United1977–78Second Division37110010434214Vancouver Whitecaps1978NASL139000000139Huddersfield Town1978–79Fourth Division7300000073Halifax Town1978–79Fourth Division223100000233Brisbane City1979NSL20100000002010Bradford City1979–80Fourth Division2180000002181980–81Fourth Division421910430047221981–82Fourth Division452410634256291982–83Third Division40254253435333Total14876621598517792Derby County1983–84Second Division114001000124Bradford City1983–84Third Division32910002135101984–85Third Division462333400053261985–86Second Division411020420047121986–87Second Division7300100083Total1264563922114351Wigan Athletic1986–87Third Division351654005045201987–88Third Division34112144204216Total69277544708736Career total50919820103516219585233
References
External links
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats Bobby Campbell hat-trick for Wigan Athletic v Bolton Wanderers (video on YouTube)