Robert Pollock "Bob" Bonthron (1880 – after 1911) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a right back

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 for Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

, Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 and Birmingham

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

.

Bonthron was born in Burntisland

Burntisland

Burntisland is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland on the Firth of Forth. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 5,940....

, Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

. He played for Raith Rovers

Raith Rovers F.C.

Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...

 and Dundee

Dundee F.C.

Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...

 before joining Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 in May 1903. He helped them to promotion

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 to the First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 in the 1905–06 season

1905-06 in English football

The 1905–06 season was the 35th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Following the increase in size of the Football League from 36 clubs to 40, and with Doncaster Rovers having been relegated from the Second Division, four new clubs were elected into the league, along with Stockport...

, and made a total of 134 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring three goals. He was a combative player, and during the promotion season was at the centre of a serious incident after Manchester United's match at Bradford City

Bradford City A.F.C.

Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two....

. His treatment of Bradford player Jimmy Conlin

James Conlin

James Conlin was an English footballer who played club football for Bradford City between 1904 and 1906. He represented the English national side once, in 1906, in a match against Scotland. He was killed in June 1917 in Flanders, during the First World War.-External links:***...

 during the match enraged the crowd, and after the game Bonthron was attacked by home supporters. Criminal charges followed against the perpetrators, and a Football Association inquiry resulted in the temporary closure of Bradford City's Valley Parade

Valley Parade

Valley Parade, also known as the Coral Windows Stadium through sponsorship rights, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1886, and was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they changed code from rugby football to association...

 ground.

He joined Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 in May 1907, playing 24 games, before moving on the following year to Northampton Town

Northampton Town F.C.

Northampton Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Northampton, Northamptonshire. They currently play in Football League Two, the lowest league division, after being relegated from League One on the last day of the 2008–09 season...

, with whom he won the Southern League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 championship in the 1908–09 season

1908-09 in English football

The 1908–09 season was the 38th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Tottenham Hotspur played their first ever season in the Football League, gaining promotion to the First Division in the process...

. He spent the 1910–11 season

1910-11 in English football

The 1910–11 season was the 40th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Huddersfield Town entered the Football League for the first time. Grimsby Town were the team who made way for them...

 with Birmingham

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 before returning to Scotland with Airdrieonians

Airdrieonians F.C.

Airdrieonians Football Club, more commonly known as Airdrie, were a Scottish professional football team from the town of Airdrie, in the Monklands area of Lanarkshire....

 and Leith Athletic

Leith Athletic F.C.

Leith Athletic Football Club is a football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a member of the East of Scotland Football League. It plays most of its home games at Leith Links. The club was originally formed in 1887 and played in the Scottish Football League in four different...

.