John Dobson (rugby union, born 1886)
{{short description|Scotland international rugby union player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| name = John Dobson
| image =
| birth_name = John Dobson
| birth_date = {{birth date|1886|09|06|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Glasgow, Scotland
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1936|07|16|1886|09|06}}
|death_place = Glasgow, Scotland
| nickname =
| height =
| weight =
| ru_position = Hooker
| repteam1 = Scotland
| repcaps1 = 6
| reppoints1 = 0
| repyears1 = 1911-12
| years1 =
| clubs1 =
| apps1 =
| points1 =
| ru_clubupdate =
| ru_provinceyears1 = 1910
1910
1911
1912
| ru_province1 = {{nowrap|Cities District
Glasgow District
Whites Trial
Blues Trial}}
| ru_provinceapps1 =
| ru_provincepoints1 =
| amatyears1 = -
| amatteam1 = Glasgow Academicals
| ru_amupdate =
| school =
| university =
| relatives = Jimmy Dobson, brother
| ru_ntupdate =
}}
John Dobson (6 September 1886 – 16 July 1936) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He played at the Hooker position.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/player/2231.html|title=John Dobson|website=ESPN scrum}}
Rugby Union career
=Amateur career=
After studying at Glasgow Academy, Dobson then played for Glasgow Academicals.The Essential History of Rugby Union: Scotland. Nick Oswald and John Griffiths. He captained the side for two years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000540/19360718/063/0011 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}
=Provincial career=
He played for the Cities District on 8 January 1910.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001876/19100110/086/0005 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}
He was capped by Glasgow District in 1910.
He played for the Whites Trial side against the Blues Trial side on 21 January 1911, while still with Glasgow Academicals.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000576/19110123/110/0009 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}
He was lined up to play again for the Whites Trial side against the Blues Trial side on 21 December 1912 but an injury to G. Donald from Oxford University created a berth for him instead in the Blues.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000576/19121220/159/0010 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}} The Blues won the match 27- 8.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001876/19121223/082/0005 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}} Days later Donald announced his retirement from rugby union. He never received a Scotland cap.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000164/19121228/033/0003 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}
=International career=
Dobson was capped by Scotland for 6 matches from 1911 to 1912.{{Cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/statsguru/rugby/player/2231.html|title=Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - John Dobson - Test matches|website=ESPN scrum}}
Military career
He served in the First World War. He was a captain with the 3/5th Scottish Rifles (Cameronians); and then the 17th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps. Severely wounded he was awarded the Military Cross.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19360718/133/0007 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}
Business career
Dobson was a woollen merchant and manufacturer; Dobson and his brothers were partners in the firm David Black and Company. On Dobson's death in 1936 it was stated that this woollen business was founded 150 years before.
Dobson became a director of Wylie and Lochhead Ltd; a governor of the Glasgow Academicals War Memorial Trust; a member of Merchants House; a member of the Glasgow Liberal Club; and treasurer of Kelvinside Parish Church.
Family
One of his brothers, Jimmy Dobson, was also a Scotland international rugby union player. Another brother, Edward Dobson, died in Flanders in 1917 in the First World War. A remaining brother William Sharp Dobson worked in the woollen business in the warehouse. He also had two sisters, Jane Boyd Dobson and Charlotte Sharp Dobson. All of the brothers played for Glasgow District in the inter-city match against Edinburgh District.
Dobson married Florence Marie Williamson in September 1920. They had two daughters.
Death
Dobson died suddenly in July 1936. Newspaper reports state the death was on Friday 17 July; the National Probate Index of Scotland states 16 July. The National Probate Index of Scotland date of death is taken here.{{cite web |url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageviewer/collections/60558/images/40884_b206845_00212?pId=637864 |title=Photocopy|website=www.ancestry.co.uk|access-date=2020-12-12}}
He left a sizeable estate of £50,493, 16 shillings and 8 pence. Both of his surviving brothers and his wife were executors of his estate.
The Belfast Telegraph stated that he was one of the finest forwards in the immediate pre-war years of Scottish rugby.{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002318/19360720/125/0008 |title=Register |access-date=March 17, 2023 |url-access=subscription |via=British Newspaper Archive}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, John}}
Category:Cities District players
Category:Glasgow Academicals rugby union players
Category:Glasgow District (rugby union) players
Category:Rugby union players from Glasgow
Category:Scotland international rugby union players