Rovers Legends - Bob Crompton (1879-1941)
By: Dan Clough | August 6th, 2007
To begin my series on Rovers legends I am going to look at Bob Crompton. The man heralded as our greatest ever player and a true one-club man.
Born in 1879 he made his Rovers debut in 1897 as a right back. A position he would occupy for 23 years. He was given his England debut in 1902 - he would go on to make 41 appearances for his country, more than any other Rovers player. He later became England’s first ever professional captain!
Known as ‘Mr Blackburn Rovers’ he led us to our first Division One titles in 1912 and 1914. He was also a big part of the side that toured in Austria and Hungary during the days when they were the other good footballing nations. Over the course of those tours Rovers battered their opposition, if football was as big then as it is now we would probably be regarded in the way Real Madrid are now, and Crompton would possibly be the best player in the world!
He was a master tactician, a strong leader and an immense aerial capability.
After retiring as a player he went on to manage the club. In his first spell in charge he led us to our 6th, and most recent, FA Cup victory - A 6-2 win over Huddersfield Town in the 1928 final.
Following his success he chose to retire. Rovers were relegated, then finished 16th in the Second Division!
In 1938 Crompton returned for a second spell! In his second spell as manager he won the Second Division and got Rovers back into the top flight.
Unfortunately, in 1939, Germany invaded Poland and football suffered a little.
Crompton died in 1941. He was still manager of Rovers and in our last game had beaten Burnley 3-2.
Bob Crompton, ‘Mr Blackburn Rovers’, We salute you!
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