Fred Roberts

Name: Frederick Charles Roberts
Born: 1905, Belfast
Height: 6.01 ft
Weight: 12.10 st
Died: 1988
Position: Centre-Forward

Representative Honours: Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1931), Junior.
Club Honours: (with Queen’s Island) City Cup Winner 1924/25; (with Glentoran) Irish League Champion 1930/31; Irish Cup Winner 1931/32, 1932/33; City Cup Winner 1931/32; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1931/32; Charity Cup Winner 1928/29; (with Distillery) City Cup Winner 1933/34.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA.Cup		Other
Bandon
Ravenscroft				(Combination)
Newington.Rgrs				(Intermediate League)
Belfast Celtic				-
Queen’s Island				-
Portadown	24/5	Feb-25		1/2
Broadway Utd				(Intermediate League)
Glentoran	28/9-32/3	c/s-28		221/332	*
Distillery	33/34	c/s-33		/ 32	*
Dundela				(Intermediate League)
TOTALS

Biography:

When Fred Roberts scored 96 goals in the 1930/31 season he set a British and Irish record unlikely ever to be matched. Still, such goalscoring feats were not unusual for Roberts. In his five seasons at the Oval his goal tallies read: 66, 57, 96, 64 and 49; they included 40 hattricks and goals in the 1932 and 1933 Irish Cup successes.

It was in his record-breaking season that Roberts was awarded his only Full international recognition (he had previously won a Junior cap while with Broadway United), but he failed to impress in a scrappy 0-0 draw in blustery conditions against Scotland. Some feel that Roberts’ form should have earned him a second chance, but at the time Ireland were in a rare position of also having the options of Joe Bambrick and Jimmy Dunne for the number nine shirt.

In May 1933 Roberts was surprisingly released by Glentoran. He signed with Distillery, top-scoring with 32 goals as the Whites claimed a close-fought City Cup competition in 1933/34. Later he played with Dundela before returning to the Oval as coach of Glentoran Olympic.

Glens Internationals (Courtesy of ForzaTV)

Ireland Cap Details:

1. 21/02/1931 Scotland H D 0-0 BC

Summary: 1/0. Won 0, Drew 1, Lost 0.

.... Fred Roberts had an unbelievable record in his 5 seasons at the Glens :-

1928/29 - - - 66 Goals
1929/30 - - - 57 Goals
1930/31 - - - 96 Goals
1931/32 - - - 64 Goals
1932/33 - - - 49 Goals

332 goals over 5 seasons including the record of 96 in the 1930/31 season 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/l7A92xb7rM

— Michael C (@abacus_2000) January 7, 2021

 

The 1st visit of @larne to Shamrock Park was 100 years ago on 5 Feb 1925. @Portadownfc won 6-2 with Andy Cochrane scoring our 1st hat-trick in senior football. His brother John scored one, the other two were scored by a man who would become a legend with @Glentoran Fred Roberts pic.twitter.com/LcjONrRPW0

— Portadown FC History (@Portsmedia) February 13, 2025