G.O.A.T. - Torquay United

Robin Gregory Stubbs was born in Quinton, Birmingham on the 22nd of April 1941 and played for Torquay in two separate spells.
At the age of 22 he joined Torquay for what was then their club record fee of £6,000 and over the following six seasons he scored at a rate of better than a goal every two games, and was the Torquay fans' choice in the Football League's 125 celebration poll.
He remembers how he moved from Birmingham to Torquay, "Gil Merrick (Birmingham manager) called me into his office one day, said that Torquay wanted me and told me to get down here and see if I could agree a contract. The two clubs were close at boardroom level anyway, and you tended to do what you were told then." The deal did suit Robin who immediately took to the English Riviera in the ‘Swinging Sixties’. The fans took to him as well, and he quickly established himself as a celebrity – on and off the pitch.

Only all-time record-holder Sammy Collins and Tommy Northcott, who was Robin's attacking partner i can beat his total of 133 goals for Torquay with all but one of them coming in only six seasons (1963-69), before he scored another 32 in just over 90 games for Bristol Rovers.
During an extraordinary spell in 1964-65, Robin hit 28 goals in 25 League and Cup games. They included two to force a 3-3 FA Cup draw against Spurs at Plainmoor, one in the replay at White Hart Lane and SEVEN in two 5-2 wins against Aldershot!
His total of 39 goals that season was only three short of Collins' record of 42 in 1955-56.When he scored his 39th goal of the season in a 2-0 home win over Halifax Town on April 10, there were still five games to go and he had a great chance of beating Collins' record. However a chipped ankle bone knocked him out of those last five matches, and Collins' record stands to this day. Robin still scored 133 goals in 263 league and cup appearances in two spells for Torquay.

 

In 2020 Torquay United announced that Robin Stubbs, now 78 and still a regular spectator at Plainmoor, had been made an Honorary Life President. 

Did you know - Robin was formerly married to Anthea Redfern ( Give us a Twirl), the Generation Game hostess who married Bruce Forsyth.