The defender made 254 appearances for City during an eight-season spell between 1961 and 1969, scoring nine goals.
Signed for £45,000 by then-City manager Les McDowall, Kennedy, who had overcome a serious illness which kept him out of football for eight months, had helped Kilmarnock to two Scottish Cup finals and the runners-up spot in the League Championship before he moved to Manchester.
He was initially signed by McDowall as a wing-half but was then utilised as a full-back where he made the position his own.
The popular Scot played for City during a difficult time for the club. For the first five years of his career at Maine Road, the Blues spent two seasons in the First Division and a further three in the Second Division.
But, like so many players of that era, it was under Joe Mercer that Kennedy finally enjoyed success with the Blues.
He was a key member of Mercer’s squad that saw City promoted from the old Division Two back into the top flight in 1965/66, before making six appearances in our title-winning campaign two years later.
After leaving City in 1969, he became player-manager at Grimsby Town, before finishing his playing career at Drogheda United in Ireland.
In 2021, Kennedy was one of four former City players retrospectively awarded winners medals in recognition of their contribution to the Club’s 1967/68 title-winning season.
Kennedy, as well as Stan Horne, Paul Hince and Harry Dowd, did not receive medals when City secured the league title in May 1968 due to a smaller allocation being awarded by the Football League in previous eras.
But the four players were duly recognised for playing a role in a historic period for our Club throughout the 1960s, contributing to our second ever top-flight title win, when Mike Summerbee handed the quartet medals at the Etihad Stadium during our game against Burnley in October 2021.
CITY HEROES FINALLY RECEIVE MEDALS
Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to Bobby’s family and friends at this difficult time.
