Theodore Robinson

Theodore Robinson was better known as a cricketer than an archer. He came from a famous family of cricketers who were all descendants of wealthy Bristol paper manufacturer Edward Robinson, who founded a team made up of 11 members of the Robinson family. They played their first match, under the name of Backwell House, in 1878 when Theodore and five siblings were joined by five cousins in the XI. In their 87 seasons of existence, all members of the Backwell House team were either a grandson, great-grandson, great-great-grandson, or great-great-great-grandson of Edward Robinson. They played matches against neighbouring villages like Flax Bourton, Yatton, Long Ashton and others, and in 1891 they played an historic match against a team made up entirely of members of the famous Grace family, and Theodore bowled out the legendary W. G. Grace for 12 runs. Theodore played in all 105 Backwell Hall games up to the outbreak of World War I, and replaced Arthur Robinson as captain in 1904.

As an archer, Theodore was a member of the Backwell and District Archery Club, as were fellow 1908 Olympians Harold James and Sarah Leonard. Despite achieving the most golds in the Double York Round, Robinson could only finish seventh, while James outscored him by five points to finish sixth. From 100 yards, however, Robinson was second-best scorer behind the eventual gold medallist William Dod. Less than a week after completion of the Olympic competition, Robinson finished sixth in the National Championships at Oxford.

In 1929 Robinson and his sister Isabel, who was also an excellent archer, presented playing fields to the people of Backwell. They paid for tennis courts, a bowling green, and other facilities to be used by the local community.