“I was confident in my own ability but at times, I wondered if I’d ever make it as a professional footballer,’” recalled Arsenal’s 1971 double-winning goalkeeper Bob Wilson, as he spoke to me in the lounge of his Brookmans Park house during our 2005 interview.
A talented young goalkeeper, Wilson combined teacher training with playing as an amateur for Loughborough College. Professional clubs began showing a keen interest and Wilson, bowled over by the aura of legendary Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Stan Cullis, signed on the dotted line as an amateur in 1961.
Wolves had been Division One Champions as recently as 1959, and over the next two years, Wilson played several reserve team matches for the Molineux club whenever his college commitments would allow.
With Wolves still keen to award him a professional contract, Wilson was invited to meet Gunners boss (and Wolves’ iconic former captain) Billy Wright at Highbury.
Still an amateur, Wilson made his full Arsenal debut on October 26, 1963, in the Gunners’ 4-2 over Nottingham Forest.
When Billy Wright signed Liverpool goalkeeper Jim Furnell a few weeks later though, Wilson reckoned his opportunity as making it as a professional might have passed, but Arsenal and Wolves eventually hashed out the first ever transfer fee for an amateur footballer.
The sum was around £6,500, and at 22 years old, Wilson - now a qualified teacher - was also finally a fully paid-up professional footballer. But he had to fight for his first team place at Highbury.
It wasn’t until the later stages of the 1967-68 campaign that the doggedly determined Wilson finally wrestled the number 1 spot away from Jim Furnell.
“By now I was 26, and desperate to make up for lost time,” Wilson recalled. In 1970, he experienced the glory of winning the Fairs Cup against Anderlecht.
Bertie Mee’s men won 3-0 in the second leg after losing 3-1 in Belgium six days earlier. “Winning it at Highbury in the return match, when all seemed lost after the first leg, was for me the most fantastic experience,” Wilson said.
The team went from strength to strength, securing the double in the 1970/71 campaign. Wilson explained that his willingness to dive at opponents’ feet was his greatest strength, although it also caused multiple injuries too.
“Some said I was reckless, but it was the diamond in my game,” he said. Wilson’s most famous save occurred when Arsenal faced Manchester United in the opening home match of the 70/71 campaign, in front of Match Of The Day cameras.
Wilson hurled himself at George Best’s feet, and grabbed the ball, just as the Ulsterman seemed set to dance his way past the Arsenal defence, during United’s 4-0 defeat. In his study at his Brookmans Park house, Wilson had a framed sequence of photos recording the moment.
Over those, Best had written: “Kind Regards Bob. Sooner or later you get a lucky one – George.”
The former amateur from Wolves was an integral part of the Arsenal team until the end of the 1973/74 campaign, at which point he embarked upon a long and highly successful media career, which made him a household name across the country. “It wasn’t a bad ride,” Wilson said modestly.
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Heroes Together: Bob Wilson](https://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/heroes-together-no-2-bob-wilson?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
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