Latchford was born in
Kings Heath, Birmingham. He was transferred from Birmingham City to Everton for £350,000, a
British transfer record at the time (
Howard Kendall and
Archie Styles were transferred to Birmingham City as part of the same deal, with Birmingham being paid just £80,000). At Everton, Latchford was the top scorer for six successive seasons. He scored 30 goals in the
1977–78 season, winning a £10,000 prize offered by a national newspaper for the first footballer to reach that number in a single season. During the mid-seventies, Latchford was widely considered one of the top English forwards of his generation. He earned his first full cap for England in a World Cup qualifier against
Italy in 1977. In April 2006 a book was published telling the story of his 1977/78 season. Co-written with journalist Martin O'Boyle, the book supports Everton's former players charity. The closest he came to a winner's medal at Everton was as a finalist in the
League Cup in 1977. The match went to three games; after a goalless draw at
Wembley, Latchford scored in both replays - a late equaliser in the first replay at
Hillsborough, which ended 1-1, and the opening goal at
Old Trafford in an eventual 3-2 defeat to
Aston Villa. Latchford made 268 appearances (3 as substitute) for Everton scoring 138 goals. After a guest stint in Australia for
Brisbane Lions in 1981, scoring 4 goals in as many appearances, Latchford left Everton for Swansea, newly promoted to the top tier of English football, scoring a
hat-trick on his debut for the Swans. He scored 35 goals in 87 league appearances during his three years at Swansea, meaning that - as at Everton - he averaged a goal nearly every other game. Latchford later also played for Dutch club
NAC Breda (15 Appearances – 13 Goals),
Newport County and finally
Merthyr Tydfil before retiring as a player in 1987. During his time at Everton, he was the club's leading post
Second World War goalscorer with 138 goals, a record he held until 1989 when
Graeme Sharp exceeded Latchford's tally. By the time Latchford left Everton, only
Dixie Dean (pre Second World War) had scored more goals for the club in history. Latchford played 12 times for England, scoring 5 goals. He represented the players at
Professional Footballers' Association, and in 1983 was part of a delegation which negotiated improved terms for players in the FA's deal with broadcasters for live coverage of that season's
FA Cup. Now living in Germany with his family, Latchford makes regular trips back to England to speak on the after-dinner circuit and also has a regular column on Everton independent website, NSNO.co.uk. Latchford's two brothers, Dave and Peter, were both professional goalkeepers. Like Bob,
Dave Latchford played for
Birmingham City; whilst
Peter Latchford represented
West Bromwich Albion before spending over ten years at
Celtic. (In March 1974, Bob managed the rare footballing feat of scoring twice against a sibling in a top-flight match.) ==Honours==