Bobby Baxter

Who was Bobby Baxter?

Robert Denholm "Bobby" Baxter was a Scottish footballer best known for his time with English club Middlesbrough. He was born in the Gilmerton area of Edinburgh.

A dominating central defender and a great tackler, Baxter joined Middlesbrough from junior club Musselburgh Bruntonians in 1931 after being spotted by manager Peter McWilliam. The match McWilliam had been to Scotland to watch had been cancelled and after going to watch Musselburgh Bruntonians instead, he spotted the young defender and decided to sign him.

Baxter went on to play 247 times for Middlesbrough, playing in nine different positions and later became club captain. He remained at Middlesbrough until 1946, but played for both Hearts and Hibernian in unofficial matches during World War II. While at Middlesbrough he earned three caps for the Scotland national team, the third as captain against England in 1939.

Upon the return of official professional football in the 1946-47 season, Baxter returned to Scotland where he played for Hearts for a single season. In 1947 he became manager of Leith Athletic and was also joint manager of Scottish speedway team Edinburgh Monarchs.