Bill Rowley

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Bill Rowley
Billy Rowley.JPG
Personal information
Full name William Spencer Rowley
Date of birth March qtr, 1865
Place of birth Hanley, Staffordshire, England
Date of death 1939
Place of death United States
Height Goalkeeper
Youth career
Hanley Orion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1883 Stoke 0 (0)
1884–1886 Burslem Port Vale 0 (0)
1887–1896 Stoke 118[1] (0)
1898 Leicester Fosse 1 (0)
National team
1889–1892 England 2 (0)
Teams managed
1895–1897 Stoke
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

William Spencer "Bill" Rowley (1865–1939) was an English footballer who played as goalkeeper for Stoke in the 1880s and 1890s, also making two appearances for England. He later became Stoke's manager between 1986 and 1898.

Contents

[edit] Football career

Rowley was born in Hanley, Staffordshire and started his professional career playing in Stoke's reserve team as a forward[2] before joining local rivals Burslem Port Vale in April 1884.

[edit] Burslem Port Vale

Immediately establishing himself as the first choice 'keeper, he played 66 games in his two and half years with the club. He even scored a goal, being one of the scorers in a 12–0 route of Ironbridge in the final of the 1885 Burslem Challenge Cup.[3]

He broke a rib in a 3–1 friendly defeat at Stoke on 1 May 1886; nevertheless he returned to Stoke in early 1887. This move came after he signed a contract to play exclusively for the Vale and, despite the case being upheld in a Burslem court, Vale allowed him to leave for Stoke in December 1886.[3]

[edit] Stoke

He was a member of the Stoke side that were founder members of The Football League in 1888. Stoke finished at the bottom of the table in both 1888–89 and 1889–90 and in 1890 dropped down to the Football Alliance. The following season, Stoke were champions of the Football Alliance and returned to the Football League, where they once again struggled, finishing second last in 1891–92, before finishing in mid-table in 1892–93.

Described as a "brave and cool goalkeeper",[4] Rowley was a virtual ever-present throughout his first six years with Stoke and his form earned him a call into the national team for the match against Ireland on 2 March 1889. The match was played at Anfield, then the home of Everton, and the selectors made eleven changes to the side that had beaten Wales a week before with nine new caps, including Rowley's Stoke team-mate, Tommy Clare at right back.[5] England won the match "quite comfortably"[6] 6–1, with John Yates scoring a hat trick in his only international appearance.

Rowley's only other England appearance came three years later, also against Ireland, at the Solitude Ground, Belfast, when he was joined by his Stoke team-mates Tommy Clare and Alf Underwood as the two full-backs.[7] Harry Daft of Notts County marked the occasion by scoring twice, either side of half-time, in an "unconvincing victory".[8]

A number of serious injuries interrupted his career, with Tom Cain taking over in goal for most of the 1893–94 season. Although Rowley recovered his place for the next season, he suffered from further injuries, including a broken breastbone,[4] with George Clawley replacing him. Clawley now established himself as first-choice 'keeper, and in his final three seasons at the Victoria Ground, Rowley managed only twelve further League appearances.

In 1896, he ceased playing and became Stoke's club secretary, a position he held for two years.[4]

In August 1898, he joined Leicester Fosse as player-secretary but, following an objection from Stoke, he was suspended in October, resulting in his retirement.[4]

He later emigrated to America where he lived the rest of his life.[9]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Playing career

Club Season League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke 1886–87 0 0 1 0 1 0
1887–88 0 0 4 0 4 0
1888–89 21 0 0 0 21 0
1889–90 21 0 4 0 25 0
1890–91[A] 6 0 0 0 6 0
1891–92 24 0 4 0 28 0
1892–93 30 0 1 0 31 0
1893–94 10 0 2 0 12 0
1894–95 7 0 0 0 7 0
1895–96 1 0 0 0 1 0
1896–97 4 0 0 0 4 0
Leicester Fosse 1897–98 1 0 0 0 1 0
Career total 125 0 16 0 141 0

[edit] Footnotes

A. ^ The "1890–91 season" constitutes appearances and goals in the Football Alliance.

[edit] Manager

Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Stoke May 1895 August 1897 66 29 4 33 43.94

[edit] Honours

with Burlsem Port Vale
  • Burslem Challenge Cup winner: 1885
  • North Staffordshire Charity Challenge Cup winner: 1885 (shared)
with Stoke

[edit] References

  1. ^ Football League appearances only
  2. ^ Gibbons, Philip (2001). Association Football in Victorian England - A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. Upfront Publishing. p. 118. ISBN 1-84426-035-6. 
  3. ^ a b Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 256. ISBN 0952915200. http://www.amazon.ca/Port-Vale-Personalities-Jeff-Kent/dp/0952915200. 
  4. ^ a b c d Betts, Graham (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing. p. 208. ISBN 1-905009-63-1. 
  5. ^ "England 6 - Ireland 1". www.englandstats.com. 2 March 1889. http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=36. Retrieved 24 April 2009. 
  6. ^ Association Football in Victorian England - A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. pp. 120–121. 
  7. ^ "Ireland 0 - England 2". www.englandstats.com. 5 March 1892. http://www.englandstats.com/matchreport.php?mid=45. Retrieved 24 April 2009. 
  8. ^ Association Football in Victorian England - A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. p. 188. 
  9. ^ Matthews, Tony: "The Encyclopedia of Stoke City " (Lion Press, 1994, ISBN 1859831001)

[edit] External links
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