Background
He was born and raised in Birtley, County Durham, and at the time of the 1911 Census, was working as a driver in a colliery.
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Bob Bolam
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He served in the Royal Navy during the First World War. After the war, Bolam joined Football League First Division club Sheffield United. According to the Telegraph and Star, "he is speedy and invariably puts across a good ball, whilst his ability to use both feet enables him to meet his man with confidence and success".
But he was unable to keep his place, and at the end of the 1921-1922 season, was not included on the club"s retained list, and signed for Darlington of the Third Division.
He went straight into the starting eleven, and opened the scoring in a 4–0 defeat of Accrington Stanley in his second match, but soon lost his place, played only 12 games over the season, and moved on again, this time to South Shields. A match preview in the Derby Daily Telegraph suggested his problem was temperamental: he "can play on either wing, and in the mood can be really dangerous, but he allows himself to become irritated, and goes off his game very easily." He began well for South Shields, with the only goal of the Second Division fixture against Blackpool, and played regularly, making 32 league appearances, but still left for yet another club at the end of the season.
He played twice in the Third Division South for Queens Park Rangers, and retired from football in the summer of 1925. He died in 1964, aged 68, in Gateshead.
