Richard Paul Stobbart... sports family (hockey grandson Steve Kelly)... he married his wife (they had two daughters Ruth and Shirley)... he was 60 years old when he passed away in Vancouver on 9 November 1952 (he took his own life from a 150-foot plunge from the south end of Lions Gate Bridge)... in 1936, he was injured in an automobile accident, but not seriously... said to have been “deadly in front of goal with head or feet”... shortly after his death, New Westminster Royals wore black armbands in his honour in a Pacific Coast League match on 11 November (at Callister Park, a 2:5 loss to North Shore United FC)...

posthumously honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player... posthumously honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia... in 1950, he was one of 16 footballers shortlisted in a Best in 50 Years poll by The Canadian Press... as part of Canada Soccer’s Centennial in 2012, recognised in the Best XI from 50 Years (1912-1962)... part of the Canadian team that toured Australia for more than three months in 1924, recognised as a Canada Soccer Team of Distinction...

a four-time Dominion of Canada Football Championship winner (1923, 1927, 1928, 1931), in fact the first four-time national winner... in 1950, his 1929 team Westminster Royals was named Canadian soccer’s “Best in 50 Years” in a poll by The Canadian Press...

as noted in 1923 in the Winnipeg Tribune, “has great reputation as a half back and is good both on offence and defence”... also noted in 1923 in the Winnipeg Tribune, “he certainly is a great half”... as noted in a 1924 Australian program, Stobbart was “tricky with his feet and possesses a football head”... as noted in a 1924 Brisbane program, Stobbart was “an accomplished left half (and) star player of the (Nanaimo) combination; he can play in almost any position, but is best at left half”... as noted in 1925 in the Vancouver Sun, “Stobbart is one of the most colourful players that ever laced on a shoe; he is a versatile box of tricks, a fine opportunist and not too much of an individualist. He is small, but this has never been a drawback. He has given his best services to Nanaimo and whether at inside left of left half back and has always been a bulwark”... as noted in 1928 in the Winnipeg Free Press, he was “deadly in front of goal with head or feet, a born schemer, he is also a wonderful half back either in attack or defence”... wrote historian Colin Jose, he was “considered to be one of the finest halfbacks or inside forwards in Canadian soccer history”... as noted in 1950 in the Vancouver Sun, Stobbart featured on Dave Turner’s all-time all-star team...

said Vic Storwell in 1952, Stobbart was “Canada’s most versatile player of all time. He could play any position except goal and play them all exceptionally well”...

For Country

was part of the 1924 Canadian team that toured Australia and New Zealand (with matches played in Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide and Auckland)... on that 1924 tour, he was presented a medal by host Australia for being Canada’s most consistent player...

For Sport

served as assistant coach for Vancouver St. Andrews when the team won the 1947 Challenge Trophy...