Robert Hamilton "Bob" Turnbull (22 June 1894 – 1946) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

er.

Turnbull was originally a soldier

Soldier

A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

, serving in the Royal Corps of Signals

Royal Corps of Signals

The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...

, and joined Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 in 1921 as an amateur. He was originally a left back and made his debut on 27 December 1921 against Cardiff City

Cardiff City F.C.

Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...

 at Ninian Park

Ninian Park

Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...

; Arsenal lost 3–4 in a tightly fought game. Turnbull only played occasionally at this stage, making only five appearances in the 1921-22

1921-22 in English football

The 1921–22 season was the 47th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The league underwent a major expansion for the second consecutive season, adding 20 teams from the Midlands and Northern England. They were placed in the new Third Division North, and the existing southern-based...

 season. The following season he played a little more regularly, featuring in eight of the Gunners' first fifteen matches. At this point in time, mid-November, Arsenal were bottom of the table, having only won four matches.

With Arsenal's regular striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 Henry White

Henry White (footballer)

Henry Albert "Bert" White was an English footballer.-Playing career:White was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, and first played for Brentford as an amateur, before World War I intervened...

 out of form and no money available to buy a replacement, Arsenal manager Leslie Knighton

Leslie Knighton

Albert Leslie Knighton was an English football manager.Knighton was born in Church Gresley, Derbyshire. His own playing career was cut short by injury, after which he moved into coaching and management...

 switched Turnbull from defence to up front, and the gamble paid off; Turnbull scored 21 league goals that season, including two four-goal hauls against Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

 and Blackpool

Blackpool F.C.

Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...

. Turnbull's goals saved Arsenal from relegation and they eventually finished a comfortable 11th. An additional goal in the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 against Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

 brought Turnbull's total for the season to 22, which was then a top-flight record for an Arsenal player.

However, his blistering form could not last, and he only scored six goals in 1923-24

1923-24 in English football

The 1923–24 season was the 49th season of competitive football in England.-Events:*On 11 November 1923, Aston Villa centre-half Tommy Ball was shot dead by his neighbour, thus becoming the only Football League player to have been murdered.-Honours:...

. The arrival of Harry Woods

Harry Woods (footballer)

Harry Woods was an English footballer.Born in St Helens, Woods started out with his hometown club, non-league St Helens Town, before joining Norwich City in 1912...

 forced Turnbull out of the Arsenal side altogether and he was sold to Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

 in November 1924; in all he had scored 28 goals in 66 matches for Arsenal. After just three months at The Valley, he was sold on Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

, where he rediscovered his form. In less than three seasons he scored 58 goals in only 87 first-team games.

After leaving Chelsea in 1928 he had brief spells at Clapton Orient

Leyton Orient F.C.

Leyton Orient F.C. are an English professional football club in East London. They currently play in Football League One and are known to their fans as the O's.Leyton Orient have spent one season in the top flight of English football, in 1962–63...

, Southend United

Southend United F.C.

Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who play in Football League Two. Their home ground is Roots Hall, and the club plan to move into a new 22,000-seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm.-Stadium:The club has had...

 and Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

. After retiring, he stayed on with Palace as a trainer, until his death in 1946 aged 52.