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500miles
24-12-2011, 08:17 AM
Born in the shadow of Easter Road, scorer of 4 goals in the 8 goal demolition of rangers, Scotland capped, played ahead of, with, and in place of the Famous 5 - particularly Bobby Johnstone, when he departed the club. Seems to have all the credentials of a club legend, but without the level of recognition that his contemporaries in the forward line got. Can any of the older posters comment on Bobby and his time at Hibs?

Frazerbob
24-12-2011, 09:10 AM
Grandfather or great uncle or similar to Alan Combe the keeper. Good Hibs family.

calumb
24-12-2011, 09:13 AM
Born in the shadow of Easter Road, scorer of 4 goals in the 8 goal demolition of rangers, Scotland capped, played ahead of, with, and in place of the Famous 5 - particularly Bobby Smith, when he departed the club. Seems to have all the credentials of a club legend, but without the level of recognition that his contemporaries in the forward line got. Can any of the older posters comment on Bobby and his time at Hibs?

my grandad used to tell me that it was Bobby Combe and Archie Buchanan that made the famous five happen.

Leithenhibby
24-12-2011, 09:31 AM
my grandad used to tell me that it was Bobby Combe and Archie Buchanan that made the famous five happen.


:agree: My old-man said exactly the same..... He loved talking about BC, all good, if not brilliant stuff. :wink:

HiBremian
24-12-2011, 09:46 AM
Bobby Combe had family connections with my lot - he was the nephew of my great aunt's husband. Technically not a relative, but close enough for my dad to always mention him whenever we discussed anything Hibs. I remember he had a shop on Leith Walk for a lot of years, but was just too young to see him play (my first game was in 1958 at the age of 5). I was brought up thinking of him as the 6th member of the Famous Five, so maybe he played inside forward at times as well as his usual wing half.

brog
24-12-2011, 11:00 AM
Bobby Combe had family connections with my lot - he was the nephew of my great aunt's husband. Technically not a relative, but close enough for my dad to always mention him whenever we discussed anything Hibs. I remember he had a shop on Leith Walk for a lot of years, but was just too young to see him play (my first game was in 1958 at the age of 5). I was brought up thinking of him as the 6th member of the Famous Five, so maybe he played inside forward at times as well as his usual wing half.

He certainly did & he worked at the Gas Board in Granton for many years. I knew Bobby quite well at that time but he was very quiet & never really reminisced too much. He was rarely at ER after he retired from the game & like most of that team they found it hard to see Hibs not at the top of the league. As the OP said, Bobby was central to the FF & was often known as the 6th member of the Famous Five!

jdships
24-12-2011, 02:59 PM
I was lucky enough to play twice on the "Hallowed Turf that is Easter Road" in 1950/51 .
Once against Bobby Combe
He WAS the sixth member of the " Famous Five" without a doubt - hard as nails and a fine person on/off the park.
As another poster has said unfortunately he wasn't keen in sitting down and reminiscing about the past .
His versitility probably went against him - he could play up front/ midfield and on occasions as a conventional winger

:flag:

stanton_4
24-12-2011, 04:35 PM
I lived next door to his brother Charlie for many years. He was very proud of Bobby but like the man himself never really talked about his exploits much. On one occasion though he told me a story of going down to the borders to visit Bobby the week after he had represented Scotland against The Auld Enemy at Wembley. When Charlie arrived Bobby was washing his car... with the England shirt he had been swapped. :thumbsup:

Seanair
24-12-2011, 06:41 PM
my grandad used to tell me that it was Bobby Combe and Archie Buchanan that made the famous five happen.

Can believe that. We had other good players who filled in too when any of the FF were injured.

Can't help comparing these guys with the pampered prima donnas of today.

Bobby Combe with his wee grocer's shop in Leith Walk and a modest house in Crewe Road North. Archie Buchanan: when I was moving house once, I was gobsmacked when he turned up as part of the Removal Company's squad. I kept saying to my wife "but that's Archie Buchanan"! Anyone know what happened to him?

Jonnyboy
24-12-2011, 08:35 PM
Born in the shadow of Easter Road, scorer of 4 goals in the 8 goal demolition of rangers, Scotland capped, played ahead of, with, and in place of the Famous 5 - particularly Bobby Smith, when he departed the club. Seems to have all the credentials of a club legend, but without the level of recognition that his contemporaries in the forward line got. Can any of the older posters comment on Bobby and his time at Hibs?

Gordon you mean :wink:

Lawrie Reilly always describes Bobby Combe as the sixth member of the Famous Five. Lawrie also refers to the guys behind the Famous Five as the Stupendous Six and never fails to acknowledge that those guys were every bit as important as Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond. :agree:

500miles
24-12-2011, 08:42 PM
Gordon you mean :wink:

Lawrie Reilly always describes Bobby Combe as the sixth member of the Famous Five. Lawrie also refers to the guys behind the Famous Five as the Stupendous Six and never fails to acknowledge that those guys were every bit as important as Smith, Johnstone, Reilly, Turnbull and Ormond. :agree:

I actually meant Bobby Johnstone, but was also reading a link about Gordon Smith! Corrected...

tomhorn
24-12-2011, 08:44 PM
Im 35 so obviously didnt see him play but was lucky enough to know him quite well in the 80's when he lived in Tranent. He was an absolute gem of a person. A complete gentleman. He died suddenly in his early 60's which was very sad indeed.

Jonnyboy
24-12-2011, 08:56 PM
I actually meant Bobby Johnstone, but was also reading a link about Gordon Smith! Corrected...

Either way they were helluva boots to fill and BC did it which emphasises just how good a player he was :aok:

Drummer
25-12-2011, 02:36 AM
Great player bit of an unsung hero. started as right half moved to inide right when Bobby johnstone went to Man City IIRC. I remember going to his store when I lived in Lorne st. Wee general on the pitch, the quiet man of it.

HIBERNIAN-0762
25-12-2011, 10:23 AM
Can believe that. We had other good players who filled in too when any of the FF were injured.

Can't help comparing these guys with the pampered prima donnas of today.

Bobby Combe with his wee grocer's shop in Leith Walk and a modest house in Crewe Road North. Archie Buchanan: when I was moving house once, I was gobsmacked when he turned up as part of the Removal Company's squad. I kept saying to my wife "but that's Archie Buchanan"! Anyone know what happened to him?

I used to work beside Archie in Bond 9 at Elbe Street in the mid 70s, another one who didn't like talking about the old days, strange that :confused: I couldn't get more than a aye well and cannae remember son out of him when I asked him about those days, I even brought an old programme in (handbook) and the amount of goals he scored in the reserves was unbelievable but still couldn't get a word out of him, very nice man though. Think he died a few years ago.

brog
26-12-2011, 10:48 AM
I used to work beside Archie in Bond 9 at Elbe Street in the mid 70s, another one who didn't like talking about the old days, strange that :confused: I couldn't get more than a aye well and cannae remember son out of him when I asked him about those days, I even brought an old programme in (handbook) and the amount of goals he scored in the reserves was unbelievable but still couldn't get a word out of him, very nice man though. Think he died a few years ago.

You may be getting mixed up with Jock Buchanan here. Archie was a midfielder & pretty much a regular for most of his lengthy career with Hibs. Jock on the other hand was the perennial reserve, understudy first to Lawrie, then Joe!! I think in about 6 or 7 years with Hibs Jock started only 2 or 3 games a season but he scored for fun every week in reserves. Remember there were no subs in those days! He does however have the great honour of scoring the very first European Cup goal on British soil!

jdships
26-12-2011, 11:31 AM
You may be getting mixed up with Jock Buchanan here. Archie was a midfielder & pretty much a regular for most of his lengthy career with Hibs. Jock on the other hand was the perennial reserve, understudy first to Lawrie, then Joe!! I think in about 6 or 7 years with Hibs Jock started only 2 or 3 games a season but he scored for fun every week in reserves. Remember there were no subs in those days! He does however have the great honour of scoring the very first European Cup goal on British soil!

Think you are correct .
Archie was a joiner by trade and have a feeling that during his days with Cowdenbeath he was " following " his trade and when he retired had a small business .
After his leg break in 1954 he was never quite the same player.

Jock ( born about 1935) played for Edinburgh Waverley as a C/H before joining Hibs.
As a lad he lived somewhere about Henderson Street/Shore as I used to see him waiting for a bus (to go to training ) at the stop opposite the old Labour Exchange on the Shore .
Again from memory - think he was a taxi driver in his later years .

:flag:

ancient hibee
26-12-2011, 03:16 PM
I lived next door to his brother Charlie for many years. He was very proud of Bobby but like the man himself never really talked about his exploits much. On one occasion though he told me a story of going down to the borders to visit Bobby the week after he had represented Scotland against The Auld Enemy at Wembley. When Charlie arrived Bobby was washing his car... with the England shirt he had been swapped. :thumbsup:

Think you'll find that was Bobby Johnstone.Bobby Combe didn't live in the borders.Combe was a fine midfielder and usually liked to play deep tho that didn't stop him getting over 60 goals.I remember a game against Dunfermline which I think we won 7-0-the team spent the whole of the second half trying to get Combe a goal(those were the days-Willie McFarlane even hit the bar taking the ball on the drop in our half from a kick out by the goalie who I think was called Mackin).

HIBERNIAN-0762
26-12-2011, 05:47 PM
You may be getting mixed up with Jock Buchanan here. Archie was a midfielder & pretty much a regular for most of his lengthy career with Hibs. Jock on the other hand was the perennial reserve, understudy first to Lawrie, then Joe!! I think in about 6 or 7 years with Hibs Jock started only 2 or 3 games a season but he scored for fun every week in reserves. Remember there were no subs in those days! He does however have the great honour of scoring the very first European Cup goal on British soil!

Ahh..your right it was Jock, thanks for that.

Purple & Green
27-12-2011, 09:57 PM
Think you'll find that was Bobby Johnstone.Bobby Combe didn't live in the borders.Combe was a fine midfielder and usually liked to play deep tho that didn't stop him getting over 60 goals.I remember a game against Dunfermline which I think we won 7-0-the team spent the whole of the second half trying to get Combe a goal(those were the days-Willie McFarlane even hit the bar taking the ball on the drop in our half from a kick out by the goalie who I think was called Mackin).

Could have been this game: http://www.fitbastats.com/hibs/game.php?gameid=2435

Bobby's career record at Hibs here: http://www.fitbastats.com/hibs/player.php?playerid=553

I don't have a match report to hand but the goalkeeper was probably Joe Mackin.

stanton_4
28-12-2011, 07:40 AM
Think you'll find that was Bobby Johnstone.Bobby Combe didn't live in the borders.Combe was a fine midfielder and usually liked to play deep tho that didn't stop him getting over 60 goals.I remember a game against Dunfermline which I think we won 7-0-the team spent the whole of the second half trying to get Combe a goal(those were the days-Willie McFarlane even hit the bar taking the ball on the drop in our half from a kick out by the goalie who I think was called Mackin).

No it was definitely Bobby Combe. His brothers name was Charlie Combe and he was very specific when telling me this particular story and I remember the circumstances well. Bobby's international debut was in a 2-0 defeat to England and Charlie remembered his brother washing his car with the shirt he swapped. I may have got the borders bit wrong though.

Eric
28-12-2011, 09:51 AM
Bobby Combe was the youngest of 4 brothers - John, Charlie, Tom (Alan Combe's grandad) and Bobby. He debued for Hibs along with Gordon Smith in 1941 and moved back to wing half when Bobby Johnstone took over the number 8 shirt. When Bobby Johnstone left Hibs, Bobby Combe remained as a wing half although he did play in many other positions from time to time when the need arose. Source? Bobby Combe's widow May who lives in Appleby in a chat I had with her this morning.:wink:

brog
28-12-2011, 10:05 AM
It's such a pleasure to read this thread & get away from the doom & gloom which ( understandably ) permeates the rest of the board. I love the story about washing the car with the shirt but I think it's probably apocryphal. I don't think shirts were swapped in those days. In fact there was another, probably apocryphal also, story about the Scottish internationalist who went looking for his strip in first game after WW2 & was asked if he had lost the one he was given in 1939!! :greengrin

ancient hibee
28-12-2011, 11:23 AM
Could have been this game: http://www.fitbastats.com/hibs/game.php?gameid=2435?

Bobby's career record at Hibs here: http://www.fitbastats.com/hibs/player.php?playerid=553

I don't have a match report to hand but the goalkeeper was probably Joe Mackin.

Thanks for that-unfortunately I can't access the website(something to do with the wrong syntax-sounds painful).I have a mental picture of Joe Mackin-he was very hairy!

ancient hibee
28-12-2011, 11:25 AM
No it was definitely Bobby Combe. His brothers name was Charlie Combe and he was very specific when telling me this particular story and I remember the circumstances well. Bobby's international debut was in a 2-0 defeat to England and Charlie remembered his brother washing his car with the shirt he swapped. I may have got the borders bit wrong though.

Yes it was the borders bit I wasn't sure about.I used to hang about with pals outside Bobby Combe's shop in the hope of catching sight of him.

Septimus
28-12-2011, 05:48 PM
The thing I remember best about Bobby Combe was his wavy hair. The Hibs team was full of heroes in these days and although thier seperate exploits are often lauded here it was a fact that they were a team and played as a team. There would be sudden bursts of individual brilliance but the mesmerising thing was their interchanging of position as the game progressed.

If I remember correctly Bobby Combe died here in Cyprus while on holiday.

Purple & Green
28-12-2011, 06:34 PM
Thanks for that-unfortunately I can't access the website(something to do with the wrong syntax-sounds painful).I have a mental picture of Joe Mackin-he was very hairy!

My fault, I added a stray ? on at the end of the link. Apologies, it's fixed now.