Where the story of Cambridge United comes alive
100 YEARS OF COCONUTS
  • Home
  • History
    • Early days
    • The war years
    • Post-war era
    • The Abbey Stadium story
  • Memories
    • Coconuts TV
    • Radio Coconuts
    • Stories >
      • Abbey & East Barnwell people
      • Teddy Bowd/Vic Phillips
      • Randall Butt
      • Bill Cawdery
      • Len Pettit
      • Coconuts volunteers
      • John & Diane Cole
      • Roger & Sue Flack
      • Tom Gurney
      • John & Keith Hallam
      • Neil Hudson
      • Robin Mansfield
      • Percy Neal
      • Nick Pettitt/Tom Taylor
      • Colin Proctor
      • Matt Ramsay
      • Gary Stroud
    • Matches
    • Match reports
    • Legendary moments
    • People >
      • Teddy Bowd
      • Ed Chapman
      • Wilf Mannion
      • Roy McFarland
      • Reg Smart
      • Wes Maughan
  • Data
    • Abbey United 1913-1920
  • Collection
    • GALLERY
  • Coconuts/CFU
    • Happy Harry's Shop
    • The Story of the U's
    • Contact us
    • Constitution & committee
    • CFU
  • Blog

Eddie Robinson 1935-2016

12/1/2016

0 Comments

 
It was with sadness that 100 Years of Coconuts learned of the death, at the age of 81 on November 28, of former Cambridge United forward Eddie Robinson.

Eddie was a gifted winger or inside forward who joined United at the age of 22, for the club’s first season in the Southern League in 1958. He made 62 appearances, scored 23 goals and gained many admirers before departing for Cambridge City in late 1959.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
From top, Eddie Robinson in United change strip; pages from programme for Robinsons XI v Milton, 1969 (click to enlarge); the Robinson team in 1969, with mum Bella in the foreground and sisters Joan and Miriam left and right. Brothers, from left: Eddie, Leslie, Brian, Raymond, David, Ronnie, Jackie, Michael, Don, Charlie and Robert; Eddie in 2010. Photos courtesy of Cambridge News and Neil Harvey.
Born in Sunderland on 5 January 1935, he came to Newmarket Road after a youth career with Middlesbrough – where he played alongside Brian Clough – and four years as a professional at Charlton Athletic. His time at the Valley was interrupted by two years of national service with the RAF, during which he survived a grenade attack on his vehicle while on active service in Cyprus.

Playing at inside left for the U’s, he was a regular first choice and after a fine performance in a 2-0 win at Guildford City in January 1959, manager Bert Johnson stated: 'It is always a sign that a player is playing well when he gets rough treatment away from home – and Eddie Robinson certainly had that on Saturday.'

Later that month he was switched to the left wing, playing there for most of the rest of the season and finishing as the club’s top Southern League scorer with 11 goals from 29 games. United won the Cambridgeshire Professional Cup and the Southern League Inter-Zone competition that year, and in a 7-2 Inter-Zone thrashing of Chelmsford City, Eddie scored five goals, including a hat-trick in the first 36 minutes.

In November 1959, perhaps unhappy at being stationed on the wing, he was placed on the transfer list at his own request, and within 24 hours City had snapped him up for a small fee. When City and United met in the Southern League Cup early in 1960/61, City won their home leg 2-0, with Eddie scoring one of the goals. In the return match, which United won 2-0, he was forced to retire with a wrenched knee, resulting from a Roy Kirk tackle, after just four minutes. The injury finished Eddie’s career at that level, and after a year of struggle he was forced to retire at the age of 26. He had scored eight goals in 47 games for the Milton Road club.

He was awarded, and played in, a benefit match between City and his own XI, which included six United players. His injury problems improved enough to enable him to make a comeback for Soham Town Rangers in 1964.

Eddie was one of the 14 children – 11 boys and three girls – of pro boxer Jackie Robinson and his wife Bella. The number of male siblings allowed them to raise a team to take on other families in charity matches. In the late 1960s the Robinsons – including Charlie, who played ten times for City and twice for United around that time – took part in a ‘family championship’ of England. ‘We won it, beating a family called the Navens from Birmingham, although they weren't all brothers,’ Eddie told the Cambridge News in 2010.

They also beat a Jackie Milburn all-star XI and were invited to play a German family. ‘We discovered the goalkeeper for the German side was their mother, who was in her 70s. And we thought it wouldn’t be fair if we went over and put loads of goals past her,’ he recalled.

Eddie and his wife Valerie were married in 1962 and moved into the family home in Milton the following year. Daughter Melanie was born in 1965 and son Nick followed on Eddie’s birthday in 1968, causing his proud father to remark: ‘I would have preferred a new set of golf clubs.’ As talented a golfer as he was a footballer, he achieved a handicap of five and won many competitions at Newmarket’s Links club.

​He was prevented from following his apprenticed trade of roofing and tiling by the risk of injury affecting his football career. Instead, he studied accounting and concentrated on that profession following his retirement from football.
Made chief accountant at Pye Engineering Services in 1962, he showed skill in highlighting errors in business plans and was appointed as a troubleshooter at Pye head office in 1968. He spent many years improving productivity at the company’s UK and international divisions.

In 1981 he set up a successful jewellery business, but a drop in the price of gold in 1984 forced a return to accountancy. He then worked for small companies around Cambridge until 1987, when he took up the role of credit controller for Marshall Aerospace and Specialised Vehicles. Following retirement in 2000, he focused on improving his golf game and on doting on his grandchildren: Lauren, Jack, Shelley, Elliot and Albert.


The funeral will take place at 12.45pm on Tuesday, December 13 at Cambridge Crematorium.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Happy Harry's blog

    I'm the living embodiment of the spirit of the U's, and I'll be blogging whenever I've got news for you, as long as I don't miss my tea. 

    Archives

    November 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All
    100 Years Of Coconuts
    1966 World Cup
    1967/68
    1968/69
    1969/70
    1970/71
    1970s
    1971/72
    1972/73
    1977/78
    1998/99
    Abbey
    Abbey Lounge
    Abbey Meadows Primary School
    Abbey People
    Abbey Stadium
    Abbey United
    Alan Biley
    Alan Comfort
    Alan Guild
    Alan Moore
    Alan O'Neill
    Albert 'Twitter' Dring
    Allan Harris
    Allotments End
    Alva Anderson
    Amber News
    Andrew Bennett
    Andrew Stephen
    Andy Beattie
    Anglo-Italian Cup
    Apprentice
    Arsenal
    Arthur Morgan
    Autographs
    Barnwell
    Barnwell At War
    Barnwell & Fen Ditton Local History Society
    Barnwell Military Hospital
    Bernard Moore
    Bert Johnson
    Big Lunch
    Bill Cassidy
    Bill Cawdery
    Bill Leivers
    Bill Whittaker
    Billy Day
    Billy Liddell
    Billy Wall
    Billy Welsh
    Bob Bishop
    Bobby Langton
    Bobby Moore
    Bolton
    Book
    Brendon Batson
    Brian Clough
    Brian Doyle
    Brian Grant
    Brian Greenhalgh
    Brian Hart
    Brian Holmes
    Brian Moore
    Brian Whitmore
    Brighton & Hove Albion
    Bruce Rioch
    Bud Houghton
    Bury
    Bury Town
    Cambridge Brickmaking
    Cambridge City
    Cambridge Fans United
    Cambridge Football
    Cambridge Independent
    Cambridge News
    Cambridgeshire Collection
    Cambridgeshire FA
    Cambridgeshire Professional Cup
    Cambridge Sports Tours
    Cambridge Town
    Cambridge United
    Cambridge United 1968/69
    Cambridge United 1969/70
    Cambridge United Community Trust
    Cambridge United Former Players' Association
    Cambridge United Hall Of Fame
    Cambridge United Supporters' Club
    Cambridge United Youth
    Cambridge University
    Cambridge University Association Football Club
    Camtax
    Carlo Corazzin
    Catons Lane
    Celery & Coconuts
    CFU
    Champagne & Corona
    Charlton Athletic
    Chelmsford City
    Chelsea
    Chesham United
    Christmas
    Chris Turner
    Cobh Ramblers
    Coconuts
    Coconuts Events
    Coconuts TV
    Coconuts Volunteers
    Coldhams Common
    Colin Harper
    Colin Meldrum
    Colin Proctor
    Community
    Conrad Lodziak
    Cork City
    Corona End
    Corona Soft Drinks
    Cremation
    Crystal Palace
    CUFPA
    Dan Chillingworth
    Dan Gleeson
    Danny Blanchflower
    Danny O'Shea
    Danny Potter
    Dave Doggett
    Dave Kitson
    Dave Matthew Jones
    Dave Matthew-Jones
    Dave Stringer
    David Crown
    David Forde
    David Lill
    Dean Barrick
    Demba Traoré
    Dennis Walker
    Derby County
    Derek Finch
    Derek Hales
    Derek Haylock
    Derrick Christie
    Dimitar Mitov
    Dion Dublin
    Ditton Walk
    Dudley Arliss
    East Anglian League
    Eastern Counties League
    Eddie Robinson
    England
    FA Cup
    Fen Ditton
    Fenner's
    Fergus O'Donoghue
    Fields In Trust
    First Great Eastern Hospital
    Floyd Streete
    Football League Review
    Former Players
    Former Players' Association
    Fred Mansfield
    Gainsborough Trinity
    Gareth Ainsworth
    Gary Clayton
    Gary Deegan
    Gary Harwood
    Gary Johnson
    Gearóid Morrissey
    Geoff Hudson
    George Alsop
    George Best
    George Harris
    George Reilly
    Gerry Baker
    Gordon Sweetzer
    Graham Atkinson
    Graham Daniels
    Graham Felton
    Graham Smith
    Graham Ward
    Graham Watson
    Grange Road
    Great Shelford
    Great Yarmouth Town
    Greg Reid
    Habbin Stand
    Hall Of Fame
    Harry Bullen
    Hartlepool
    Harvey Cornwell
    Henry Clement Francis
    Heritage Lottery Fund
    Ian Ashbee
    Ian Atkins
    Ian Darler
    Ian Hutchinson
    Ipswich Town
    I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts
    Ivett & Reed
    Jack Bannister
    Jack Bishop
    Jackie Milburn
    Jackie Scurr
    Jack Mansell
    Jack Morgan
    Jack Thomas
    Jack Woolley
    Jamie Barnwell
    Jamie Murray
    Jenny Morgan
    Jez George
    Jim Ayers
    Jimmy Quinn
    Jimmy Thompson
    Jim Sharkey
    Jim White
    Jody Craddock
    Joe Gallego
    John Beck
    John Docherty
    John Little
    John McGlashan
    John McKinven
    Johnny Hancocks
    John Ryan
    John Saunders
    John Taylor
    Jonas Axeldal
    Jon Challinor
    Jules Rimet Trophy
    Keith Lindsey
    Ken Shellito
    Kettering Town
    Kevin Austin
    Kevin Barry
    Kevin Tully
    King's Lynn
    Kit Carson
    Kits
    Len Crowe
    Len Saward
    Leon Legge
    Les Holloway
    Leyton Orient
    Liam Hughes
    Liam O'Neil
    Light Blues
    Lil Harrison
    Lindsay Smith
    Lionel Perez
    Local Derby
    Lovely Bunch
    Luke Chadwick
    Malcolm Lindsay
    Malcolm Webster
    Manchester United
    Marcus Gynn
    Mark Albrighton
    Mark Cooper
    Mark Sale
    Martin Butler
    Martin Ling
    Marvin The Moose
    Mel Slack
    Michael Kyd
    Mick Leach
    Middlesbrough
    Mike Flanagan
    Mike Petty
    Mini Museum
    Mini-museum
    Mitchell Springett
    Multiple Sclerosis
    Museum Of Cambridge
    National Football Museum
    National Playing Fields Association
    Neil Rioch
    Newmarket Road Roughs
    Nicknames
    Nick Pope
    Northampton Town
    Obituary
    Ömer Riza
    Own Goal
    Oxford United
    Paddy Harris
    Pat Kruse
    Pat Quartermain
    Pat Saward
    Paul Daw
    Paul Jeffrey
    Paul Raynor
    Paul Wanless
    Percy Anderson
    Peter Bowstead
    Peter Dobson
    Peter Graham
    Peter Hobbs
    Peter Leggett
    Peter Phillips
    Peter Reeve
    Peter Ward
    PFA Bobby Moore Fair Play Trophy
    Phil Baker
    Phil Chapple
    Phil Hayes
    Pools
    Pop Up Displays
    Pop-up Displays
    Povel Ramel
    Programme
    Progressive Coaches
    Pye
    Q&A
    Randall Butt
    Ray Freeman
    Ray Proctor
    Reg Smart
    Richard Money
    Risen From The Dust
    Robbie Cooke
    Robbie Simpson
    Robin Hardy
    Robin Mansfield
    Rodney Slack
    Roger Gibbins
    Roger Waters
    Roly Horrey
    Ron Atkinson
    Rotherham United
    Roy Kirk
    Roy McFarland
    Russell Crane
    Saffron Walden Town
    Sam McCrory
    San Diego Toros
    Seniors World Cup
    Seven Stars
    Shane Tudor
    Sheffield Wednesday
    Shirts
    Sid High
    Simon Dobbin
    Simon Lankester
    SK Brann
    Social History
    Soham Town Rangers
    Southern League
    Southern League Cup
    Sporting Memories
    Stackridge
    Stan Cullis
    Stan Cutter
    Steve Butler
    Steve Claridge
    Steve Fallon
    Steve Palmer
    Steve Slade
    Steve Spriggs
    Stockport County
    Strips
    Stuart Wood
    Subbuteo
    Supporters
    Teddy Bowd
    Terry Eades
    Tes Bramble
    Testimonial Match
    The Blizzard
    The Globe
    #thepastwillsoonbepresent
    The Story Of The U's
    Tickle Sanderson
    Tom Finney
    Tom Hussey
    Tommy Horsfall
    Tommy Taylor
    Tom Youngs
    Tony Butcher
    Tony Gallego
    Tony Scully
    Tony Willson
    Torquay United
    Trevor Benjamin
    Trevor Brooking
    Trevor Roberts
    United Counties League
    Vertical Editions
    Veterans' Football
    Vic Akers
    Vic Phillips
    Waterbeach
    Wayne Hatswell
    West Bromwich Albion
    West Ham United
    What Dreams Are (Not Quite) Made Of
    What's On In Cambridge
    Wilf Mannion
    Willie Watson
    Windy Miller
    Wolverhampton Wanderers
    World War I
    World War II
    Wycombe Wanderers
    Yeovil Town
    Youth
    Zema Abbey

    RSS Feed

UNITED IN ENDEAVOUR