Campbell Forsyth facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert Campbell Forsyth | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1934 | ||
| Place of birth | Plean, Stirlingshire, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 15 November 2020 (aged 86) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Falkirk | |||
| Shettleston | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1955–1960 | St Mirren | 104 | (0) |
| 1960–1965 | Kilmarnock | 75 | (0) |
| 1965–1968 | Southampton | 48 | (0) |
| Total | 227 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1957 | Scotland U23 | 1 | (0) |
| 1964 | SFA trial v SFL | 1 | (0) |
| 1964 | Scotland | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Robert Campbell Forsyth (born May 5, 1934 – died November 15, 2020) was a Scottish football player. He was a talented goalkeeper who played for several famous clubs like St Mirren, Kilmarnock, and Southampton. He also proudly played four times for the Scotland national team in 1964.
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Campbell Forsyth: A Football Star
Campbell Forsyth was a well-known Scottish goalkeeper. He had a great career playing for different football clubs. He was known for his strong saves and helping his teams win important games.
Early Days in Football
Campbell was born in Plean, Scotland. He started his football journey as a young player at Falkirk. Later, he joined a junior football club called Shettleston.
In April 1955, just before his 16th birthday, Campbell joined St Mirren. He played for them for five years. During this time, he played over 100 games for the first team. In 1957, he played one game for the Scotland Under-23 team. They drew 1–1 with England.
Playing for Kilmarnock
In November 1960, Campbell moved to Kilmarnock, a club often called "Killie". In his first season, the team finished second in the Scottish League Division One.
Kilmarnock continued to do well. They were runners-up again in 1963 and 1964. Finally, in the 1964–65 season, they won the league title! Campbell was the main goalkeeper for most of this winning season.
Winning the League Title
Campbell got an ankle injury near the end of the championship season. This meant he missed the last few weeks. Another goalkeeper, Bobby Ferguson, took his place for the final game.
Earlier that season, Campbell played in Kilmarnock's first-ever European match. It was against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Kilmarnock lost the first game 3–0. But they won the second game 5–1, with Campbell making an amazing save.
Playing for Scotland
Campbell made his first appearance for the Scotland national team on April 11, 1964. They played against England and won 1–0. Over 133,000 fans watched the game at Hampden Park.
England had been winning many games and scoring lots of goals. But Campbell and the Scottish defence kept them from scoring. Alan Gilzean scored the only goal for Scotland.
Campbell missed one game in May because his daughter was born. He played three more games for Scotland later that year. After an injury, he was replaced by Bill Brown. Campbell never played for the national team again.
Moving to Southampton
In December 1965, Campbell moved to England. He signed with Southampton for £10,000. At that time, Southampton was in the Football League Second Division.
Campbell quickly became the main goalkeeper for Southampton. His great performances helped the team get promoted. This meant they moved up to a higher league.
Promotion to the Top League
Campbell made his Southampton debut on December 11, winning 4–1 against Plymouth Argyle. Southampton was seventh in the league when he joined. But with only three more losses, they finished second that season. This earned them promotion to the First Division for the first time in the club's history!
Injuries and Retirement
Campbell started the 1966–67 season as Southampton's main goalkeeper in the top league. But on September 17, 1966, he broke his leg during a game. David Webb replaced him in goal.
By the next season, Campbell was fit again. But he struggled to find his old form. He was dropped from the team in October after a mistake. He misjudged a long kick from Leicester City's young goalkeeper, Peter Shilton. The ball bounced over Campbell's head and into the goal. Southampton lost that game 5–1.
Campbell made his last appearance for Southampton on January 6, 1968. They lost 5–3 to Chelsea, and he was blamed for two of Chelsea's goals. After playing in the reserve team for a while, Campbell decided to retire from football in May 1968.
International Matches
Campbell Forsyth played four games for Scotland. Here are the details:
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goals | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 April 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  England |
1–0 | 0 | British Home Championship |
| 3 October 1964 | Ninian Park, Cardiff |  Wales |
2–3 | 0 | British Home Championship |
| 21 October 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Finland |
3–1 | 0 | World Cup qualification |
| 25 November 1964 | Hampden Park, Glasgow |  Northern Ireland |
3–2 | 0 | British Home Championship |
Life After Football
After retiring from playing football, Campbell Forsyth worked for a company called Watney for 28 years. He was a representative for their pubs and breweries. Later, he became a host at the Marriott hotel and country club near Edinburgh.
He also continued to help Southampton Football Club as a scout. A scout finds new talented players for a team. Campbell recommended players like Jim Steele and Gerry O'Brien to the club.
Campbell Forsyth passed away on November 15, 2020, at the age of 86.
Awards and Achievements
Campbell Forsyth achieved several important things during his football career:
Kilmarnock
- Scottish Football League champions: 1964–65
- Runners-up: 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64
Southampton
- Football League Second Division runners-up: 1965–66
