Robert Carter (footballer)

For other people named Robert Carter, see Robert Carter (disambiguation).

Robert Carter

Personal information
Full name	Robert Carter
Date of birth	(1880-12-29)29 December 1880
Place of birth	Hendon, County Durham, England
Date of death	14 March 1928(1928-03-14) (aged 47)
Place of death	Sunderland, England
Position(s)	Outside right
Youth career
	Sunderland Royal Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Selbourne	?	(?)
1904–1907	Burslem Port Vale	83	(23)
1907–1908	Stockport County	27	(8)
1908–1909	Fulham	10	(7)
1909–1910	Southampton	41	(12)
Total		161	(50)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert Carter (29 December 1880 – 14 March 1928) was an English footballer nicknamed "Toddler" because of his small stature. He was the father of football legend Raich Carter.

Career

He played football for Sunderland Royal Rovers and Selbourne before joining Port Vale in 1904. He scored his first goals in the Second Division at the Athletic Ground on 18 February 1905, in a 3–2 win over West Bromwich Albion. He finished the 1904–05 season with five goals in fourteen games. He hit nine goals in forty games in 1905–06 before securing eleven goals in thirty-nine appearances in the 1906–07 campaign. He scored twenty-five goals in ninety-three games for the club in all competitions before he joined Stockport County after Port Vale went into liquidation.

Carter scored eight goals in twenty-seven games for the "Hatters", helping them to a 13th-place finish in the Second Division in 1907–08. He then signed for Fulham, who had just joined the Football League and scored seven goals in ten games in 1908–09, before joining Southampton. He took Jack Foster's first-team spot at The Dell but suffered a knee injury at the start of the 1909–10 campaign. Soon afterwards, he suffered a blow to the head and was forced to retire due to his injury.

Style of play

Carter was a pacey outside right whose short stature earned him the nickname of "Toddler".

Later life

Carter left Southampton and returned to Sunderland with his wife, Clara Augusta (née Stratton), to run the Ocean Queen in Tower Street, Hendon, the docklands area of the town. However, the head injury ultimately proved fatal, and he died on 14 March 1928. His son, Raich, made his debut for Sunderland four years later.

Career statistics

Source:

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burslem Port Vale	1904–05	Second Division	14	5	0	0	14	5
	1905–06	Second Division	35	8	2	0	37	8
	1906–07	Second Division	34	10	4	1	38	11
	Total		83	23	6	1	89	24
Stockport County	1907–08	Second Division	27	8	1	0	28	8
Fulham	1907–08	Second Division	8	6	0	0	8	6
	1908–09	Second Division	2	1	0	0	2	1
	Total		10	7	0	0	10	7