Bobby signed for Bees in the Houses of Parliament
Brentford are hoping their new stadium will be playing host to Premier League matches next season.
They said goodbye to Griffin Park after 116 years by beating Swansea to reach the Championship Play-off Final against Fulham on Tuesday night.
Bees legend, Bobby Ross, will be sad to see the famous old ground converted to housing, but he’s delighted the club is thriving.
Brentford nearly went out of existence during his second season playing for them.
It was a worrying time for everyone when news broke of a takeover bid in January 1967.
Bobby recalled: “We didn’t know anything about it, but talks had been going on behind the scenes with Queens Park Rangers chairman, Jim Gregory.
“He wanted to move his club to Griffin Park because it was a much better ground than the one he had at Loftus Road.
“It would have meant Brentford no longer existing as a football club.
“The first I knew of it was when a microphone was thrust under my nose, and I was asked what I thought about the takeover.
“All I could say was that the players didn’t want it and neither would the fans.
“It quickly became a national issue. Jimmy Hill, who’d played for Brentford, raised the subject on television.
“Some of our players joined supporters in walking from Brighton to Brentford – around 70 miles – on a protest march.
“It was a worrying time for everyone. Players had club houses, and didn’t know what was going to happen.
“Former Plymouth Argyle chairman, Ron Blindell, stepped in to buy out Brentford chairman, Jack Dunnett, and save the club.”
It was Dunnett who had signed Bobby from Shrewsbury Town in unusual circumstances.
He explained: “I arrived at Brentford for talks, and the move had to be authorised by the chairman. He was an MP at the time.
“The trainer, Jimmy Sirrell, drove me across London see him at the House of Commons.
“I must be the only footballer to have been signed in the Houses of Parliament.”
There were eight Scots in the squad when Bobby joined Brentford. He enjoyed the company of his fellow countrymen, but it was a struggle on and off the pitch.
“We were relegated just a couple of months after I joined, and then nearly went out of business,” said Bobby. “But things improved when Jimmy Sirrell became manager, then we won promotion under Frank Bluntstone in 1972.
“I was back at Griffin Park on Friday for a reunion and they asked for my top memory.
“It’s scoring the penalty kick that beat Exeter and sealed promotion.
“Was I nervous? No, I used to practise kicks every Friday against the reserve goalkeeper.
“I went over three years without missing a game, and made 162 consecutive appearances.”
Bobby, now 78, finished his senior career with Cambridge United. He then spent 30 years coaching young players at QPR.
Although he’s rightly proud of being in Brentford’s Hall of Fame, he’s just as happy to able to say he played for Hearts.
He said: “I nearly left Edinburgh to join Aston Villa when I was just 16. Then Hearts manager Tommy Walker asked to see me at Tynecastle.
“My family were all Hearts supporters and I didn’t hesitate to join them.
“He gave me a cheque after I signed, and told me two things – to look after my family and buy a set of golf clubs.
“I played in the club’s first European tie against Union St Gilloise in Belgium when I was only 19.
“For me, that was living the dream.”