About Bobby Stokes
Robert William Thomas Stokes (30 January 1951 – 30 May 1995) was an English footballer, best known for scoring the winning goal in the 83rd minute of the FA Cup Final for Southampton against Manchester United in 1976. Born in Portsmouth, Stokes spent the majority of his playing career at Southampton. He also had spells at Portsmouth, Washington Diplomats, Dartford, Cheltenham Town, Chichester City, Waterlooville, Whitchurch United and Petersfield United before retirement. == Club career == === Early career === Stokes was born in Portsmouth on 30 January 1951, and was brought up in the Paulsgrove area of the city. Following a successful period of boyhood football at schoolboy and county level, he quickly became a target for a number of clubs and looked likely to sign for Portsmouth. However, he failed a trial with them and instead signed for Southampton in September 1966 as an apprentice, turning professional in February 1968. He struggled to get into the first team as a young player but made his debut on 7 April 1969, scoring twice against Burnley. He continued to impress in the next few years, despite suffering relegation in 1974 with the team and missed only one game that season. === 1976: FA Cup Final year === The year would be remembered for Saints reaching the FA Cup final. Stokes had an average league campaign that season, scoring just eight goals and he nearly left The Dell before the cup final as part of an exchange deal with Portsmouth for Paul Went.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.