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Jack Robinson
Personal information
Full name	John William Robinson
Date of birth	April 22, 1870(1870-04-22)
Place of birth	Derby, England
Date of death	October 28, 1931 (aged 61)
Place of death	Derby, England
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1889-1891 1891-1897 1897-1898 1898-1903 1903-1905 1905 1905-1907 1907 1908-1909 1909-1912 1912-?	Derby Midland Lincoln City Derby County New Brighton Tower Southampton Plymouth Argyle Exeter City Millwall Green Waves (Plymouth) Exeter City Stoke City Rochester (New York)	163 0(0) 116 0(0)
National team
1897-1901	England	011 00(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

John William Robinson, also referred to as Jack Robinson was a professional footballer who played for, among others Derby County, Southampton and England.

Robinson was noted, during his playing career, for his reliability and was, according to author Francis Hodgson, among the first goalkeepers to dive full length to make saves. Touring eastern Europe with Southampton in 1899, Robinson played a notable role in introducing modern goalkeeping techniques to Austria and Hungary. Gyula Grosics, the Hungarian international of the 1950s, observed that "it was Moon of the Corinthians, Robinson, and many other world-famous England goalkeepers who have been the pioneers of this art, and they showed the way for all Europe's goalkeepers." Hugo Meisl, the noted coach of the Austrian "Wunderteam" of the 1930s, went further, recalling:

"In that year (1899) the first English professionals came over, Southampton F.C. They beat the Viennese city eleven 6-0 and their goalkeeper, Robinson, showed for the first time how to tackle low shots by flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Until this day (1930) that type of save is called a 'Robinsonade' in Austria and Central Europe. After the match, Robinson gave an exhibition. His goal was bombarded simultaneously with six balls and he blocked most of the shots."

Robinson also played baseball, alongside Steve Bloomer, for Derby County Baseball Club and helped them become British champions twice in the 1890s.

Football Player

Derby County

• English League
  • Runner Up 1895-96

Southampton

• FA Cup
  • Finalist 1900, 1902
• Southern League Champions: 3
  • 1898-99, 1900-01, 1902-03

England

• British Champions: 4
  • 1898, 1899, 1901
  • Shared titles 1903

Baseball Player

Derby County Baseball Club

• British Champions: 2
  • 1895, 1897

• Robinson at www.therams.co.uk/
• Robinson and baseball
• Robinson at Plymouth Argyle fansite

• Gary Chalk & Duncan Holley (1987). Saints - A complete record. Breedon Books. ISBN 0-907969-22-4. 
• Duncan Holley & Gary Chalk (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3. 
• Francis Hodgson (1998). Only the Goalkeeper To Beat. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-68693-4.