Robert William Jefferson (June 1882 – July 1966[2]) was an English professional football player and manager.
Early life
Robert William Jefferson was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Tyne and Wear in 1882.[3] He left school to join the Royal Navy, before deserting after a few weeks to become an apprentice moulder at a foundry back in Sunderland.[4] At this time, he began playing junior football with local team Sunderland Royal Rovers, before becoming a professional footballer. Jefferson served as a corporal in the Royal Air Force during the First World War.[5]
In May 1922 Jefferson joined non-League team Bath City, where he ended his playing career one year later.[4]
Coaching career
After retiring as a player, Jefferson went to the Netherlands to work as a coach. He started in Haarlem with HFC.[8] After his one-year spell at the oldest footballclub of the Netherlands he left for Arnhem to coach local team Vitesse Arnhem from 1924 to 1927. During this time he also coached Tubantia from Hengelo from mid February until the first of June 1926 in order to prepare them for the promotion competition[9] after which he returned to Vitesse. Though, as expected, he became champions with Tubantia, they eventually did not win the promotion competition. He then went to Hilversum to coach 't Gooi[10] for two years.[11] In the last of his two years in Hilversum he also coached Eindhoven.[12] In 1929 he went to Groningen to coach Velocitas. During his time here he also coached HSC[13] from nearby Hoogezand and FVC[14] from faraway Leeuwarden. With Velocitas he won the Dutch FA Cup in 1934. After this success he left Velocitas to coach what was to be his last club in the Netherlands: Velox[15] where he was let go in 1938.[16]
References
^Joyce, Michael (16 October 2012). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939 (3rd Revised ed.). Tony Brown. p. 152. ISBN9781905891610.