View source for Norman Low

{{Short description|Scottish footballer (1914–1994)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name           = Norman Low
| image          = 
| caption        = 
| full_name      = Norman Harvey Low<ref>{{Hugman|11987|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref>
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1914|03|23|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Aberdeen]], Scotland
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1994|5|21|1914|3|23|df=y}}
| death_place    = [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada
| height         = 
| position       = [[Defender (association football)|Central defender]]
| youthyears1    = | youthclubs1    = Rosehill Villa
| youthyears2    = 1931–1933| youthclubs2    = [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]]
| years1         = 1933–1936| clubs1         = [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]| caps1 = 13| goals1 = 0
| years2         = 1936–1946| clubs2         = [[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]]| caps2  = 112| goals2 = 0
| years3         = 1946–1950| clubs3         = [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]]| caps3  = 150| goals3 = 0
| totalcaps      = 275| totalgoals = 0
| manageryears1  = 1950–1955| managerclubs1  = [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]]
| manageryears2  = 1956–1957| managerclubs2  = [[Workington A.F.C.|Workington]]
| manageryears3  = 1957–1962| managerclubs3  = [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]
| manageryears4  = 1967–1968| managerclubs4  = [[Witton Albion F.C.|Witton Albion]]
| manageryears5  = 1968| managerclubs5  = [[Cleveland Stokers]]
}}
'''Norman Harvey Low''' (23 March 1914 – 21 May 1994) was a Scottish [[Association football|football]] player and [[Manager (association football)|manager]]. He was the son of [[Scotland national football team|Scottish]] international footballer, [[Wilf Low]].

A [[Defender (association football)|central defender]], he played for [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] between 1931 and 1933, before three years with [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]. From 1936 up until the end of [[World War II]], he turned out for [[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]], helping the club to the [[Football League Third Division South|Third Division South]] title in 1938–39. After the war, he spent 1946 to 1950 with [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]].

In 1950, he was appointed Norwich City's manager and led the club to a second-place finish in the Third Division South in 1950–51. Despite this, [[Promotion and relegation|promotion]] eluded him before he departed in April 1955. He spent January 1956 to February 1957 as [[Workington A.F.C.|Workington]]'s manager before he was installed in the hot seat at [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]. He led the club to the [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]] title in [[1958–59 Port Vale F.C. season|1958–59]], before resigning in October 1962. Spending time as a [[Scout (association football)|scout]] at [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] and [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]], he was made [[Witton Albion F.C.|Witton Albion]] manager in 1967, before he took to the United States for a brief spell in charge of the [[Cleveland Stokers]] in 1968.

==Playing career==
Low was a youth player at [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] but began his professional career with [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]].<ref name="lfch" /> The dominant centre-half struggled to get into the first-team, though did play eleven consecutive games in place of [[Tom Bradshaw (footballer, born 1904)|Tom Bradshaw]] for the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] club during the first half of the [[1934–35 in English football|1934–35 season]].<ref name="lfch" />

Leaving [[Anfield]] in 1936, he then spent ten years with [[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]], a club struggling in the bottom half of the [[Football League Third Division South|Third Division South]] table. The "Exiles" finished 19th, two points above the re-election zone in [[1936–37 Football League|1936–37]], and then ended the [[1937–38 Football League|1937–38]] campaign in 16th place. They then improved massively, finishing top of the division in [[1938–39 Football League|1938–39]] under the stewardship of [[Billy McCandless]], three points ahead of [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]]. He played a total of 112 league games for the club.

During [[World War II]] he also guested for [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]], [[Everton F.C.|Everton]], Liverpool, [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] and [[Lovell's Athletic F.C.|Lovell's Athletic]].<ref name="Kent" /> In 1946 he moved onto [[Duggie Lochhead]]'s [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]], a team struggling near the foot of the Third Division South table. They had to apply for re-election in [[1946–47 Football League|1946–47]], finishing in the penultimate spot, level on points with bottom club [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]]. They finished 21st again in [[1947–48 Football League|1947–48]], ahead of bottom club [[Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.|Brighton & Hove Albion]] due to a superior goal average. The "Canaries" rallied to a tenth-place finish in [[1948–49 Football League|1948–49]], before recording an eleventh-place finish in [[1949–50 Football League|1949–50]]. Low played 150 league games in four years at [[Carrow Road]].

==Managerial career==

===Norwich City===
Low was appointed [[Manager (association football)|manager]] of [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]] in 1950 and led the club to a second-place finish in the Third Division South in [[1950–51 Football League|1950–51]]. However, only champions [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]] were [[Promotion and relegation|promoted]]. His team finished third in [[1951–52 Football League|1951–52]], five points behind champions [[Plymouth Argyle F.C.|Plymouth Argyle]]. They dropped a place again to fourth in [[1952–53 Football League|1952–53]], though they were only four points behind champions [[Bristol Rovers F.C.|Bristol Rovers]]. However, they dropped to seventh in [[1953–54 Football League|1953–54]], 13 points shy of [[Ipswich Town F.C.|Ipswich Town]]. The [[1954–55 Football League|1954–55]] season was also disappointing, and Low left the club in April 1955.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leaguemanagers.com/manager/history-1333.html|title=Norman Low|work=leaguemanagers.com|access-date=10 June 2009}}</ref>

===Workington===
Low worked as [[Workington A.F.C.|Workington]] manager from January 1956 to February 1957. The "Reds" finished tenth in the [[Football League Third Division North|Third Division North]] in [[1955–56 Football League|1955–56]], and ended the [[1956–57 Football League|1956–57]] season in fourth place under his replacement [[Tommy Jones (footballer, born 1909)|Tommy Jones]].

===Port Vale===
Low was made manager of [[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]] in February 1957.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Replacing [[Freddie Steele (footballer)|Freddie Steele]], who developed ''the Steel/Iron curtain'', Low adopted an attacking policy, instructing his players 'to go out and entertain the public' and 'he never discussed the opposition'.<ref name="Kent" /> However, Vale were already heading out of the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]], and went on to finish in last place in [[1956–57 Port Vale F.C. season|1956–57]].<ref name="Kenyt">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale|publisher=Witan Books|year=1990|pages=196–226|chapter=Flattering Only to Deceive (1960–1969)|isbn=0-9508981-4-7}}</ref> Low announced a new youth policy at [[Vale Park]], and promptly released [[Cyril Done]] ([[Winsford United F.C.|Winsford United]]); [[Ray King (footballer)|Ray King]] (sold to [[Boston United F.C.|Boston United]] for [[Pound sterling|£]]2,500); [[Reg Potts]] and [[Stan Turner]] ([[Worcester City F.C.|Worcester City]]); [[Tommy Cheadle]], [[Stan Smith (footballer, born 1931)|Stan Smith]], and [[Derek Mountford]] ([[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]]); [[Len Stephenson]] and [[Billy Spurdle]] ([[Oldham Athletic A.F.C.|Oldham Athletic]]); and [[Harry Anders]] ([[Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891)|Accrington Stanley]]).<ref name="Kenyt"/>

Preparing for the Third Division South campaign in [[1957–58 Port Vale F.C. season|1957–58]], he said his team would "fight like hell to get back into the Second Division".<ref name="Kenyt"/> He signed impressive forward [[Jack Wilkinson (footballer, born 1931)|Jack Wilkinson]] ([[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]]); [[Wales national football team|Welsh international]] goalkeeper [[Keith Jones (Welsh footballer)|Keith Jones]] (signed from [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] for £3,500); defender [[Bert Carberry]] ([[Gillingham F.C.|Gillingham]]); and [[Alan Martin (footballer, born 1923)|Alan Martin]] – who returned to the club as a part-time professional.<ref name="Kenyt"/> His team were third in the league by November, and he added to his squad with the signatures of Bert Carberry and Jack Wilkinson.<ref name="Kenyt"/> However, they then lost their form, and Low attempted to shake things up by selling [[Ken Griffiths]] to [[Mansfield Town F.C.|Mansfield Town]] and bringing in [[Noel Kinsey]] from [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] for £5,000.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Vale eventually finished 15th, the bottom half of the table, and therefore were invited to form the newly created [[Football League Fourth Division|Fourth Division]].<ref name="Kenyt"/>

Low signed 'speedy and direct' winger [[Brian Jackson (footballer, born 1933)|Brian Jackson]] from [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] for £2,000, experienced left-back [[Roy Pritchard]] from [[Notts County F.C.|Notts County]], and [[Peter Hall (footballer, born 1939)|Peter Hall]] from Stoke City.<ref name="Kenyt"/> They picked up just two points from their first five home games before turning Vale Park into a fortress.<ref name="Kenyt"/> In mid-season he handed keeper [[Ken Hancock]] and striker [[Graham Barnett (footballer)|Graham Barnett]] their débuts.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Vale went twelve games unbeaten to rise to the top of the table and thrashed [[Gateshead F.C.|Gateshead]] 8–0 on Boxing Day.<ref name="Kenyt"/> He put veteran [[Roy Sproson]] back into the defensive line, whilst up front [[Stan Steele]] 'did the work of two men', [[Harry Poole]] brought 'flexibility and fluidity', and Graham Barnett scored from half-chances.<ref name="Kenyt"/> They finished as Fourth Division champions in [[1958–59 Port Vale F.C. season|1958–59]] with 64 points, four points clear of second, and seven clear of fifth spot, scoring a [[List of Port Vale F.C. records and statistics|club record]] 110 goals.

In preparation for the [[1959–60 Port Vale F.C. season|1959–60]] [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] campaign, Low signed [[Morgan Hunt]] from [[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]] for a four-figure fee, and outside-left [[Cliff Portwood]] from [[Preston North End F.C.|Preston North End]] for £750.<ref name="Kenyt"/> He also tried to sign [[Stanley Matthews]] from [[Blackpool F.C.|Blackpool]], but a deal could not be reached for the 44-year-old.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Low then traded [[John Cunliffe (footballer, born 1930)|John Cunliffe]] and £2,000 to Stoke City in exchange for winger [[Harry Oscroft]] and centre-half [[Peter Ford (footballer)|Peter Ford]].<ref name="Kenyt"/> In March, an out-of-form Graham Barnett was sold to [[Tranmere Rovers F.C.|Tranmere Rovers]] for £5,000, leaving Vale without 'a top-class inside-forward'.<ref name="Kenyt"/> In the [[FA Cup]], Vale reached the Fifth Round, and 49,768 crammed into Vale Park to witness a 2–1 defeat to [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]].<ref name="Kenyt"/> They ended the league campaign in 14th place, ten points above the [[promotion and relegation|relegation]] zone.<ref name="Kenyt"/>

Low prepared for the [[1960–61 Port Vale F.C. season|1960–61]] season by recruiting former Wales international inside-right [[Noel Kinsey]] from [[Birmingham City F.C.|Birmingham City]] as a player-[[Coach (sport)|coach]], and 21-year-old outside-left [[Dennis Fidler]] from the [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] [[Manchester City F.C. Reserves and Academy|Reserves]].<ref name="Kenyt"/> His £10,000 offer for Aston Villa's [[Gerry Hitchens]] was rejected, whilst interest in re-signing [[Ronnie Allen]] also went nowhere.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Low instead got 'bustling' [[Ted Calland]] on a [[Free transfer (association football)|free transfer]] from [[Exeter City F.C.|Exeter City]], and sold [[Fred Donaldson]] to Exeter for £2,000.<ref name="Kenyt"/> In November he signed [[Bert Llewellyn]] from Crewe Alexandra for £7,000.<ref name="Kenyt"/> His team put in some memorable performances, including a 5–0 win over [[Grimsby Town F.C.|Grimsby Town]] at [[Blundell Park]], in what Roy Sproson later described as his 'greatest memory' and 'one of their finest hours'; the performance was so impressive they received 'a standing ovation' from the home crowd, as the "Valiants" finished the game 'rolling the ball about like a game of [[chess]]'.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Vale were in the promotion hunt until late in the season, as Low released [[Albert Leake]] and sold Stan Steele to [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]] for £10,000.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Vale recorded a seventh-place finish, and Low ended the campaign by releasing [[Harry Oscroft]] ([[Brantham Athletic F.C.|Brantham Athletic]]), [[Ted Calland]] ([[Lincoln City F.C.|Lincoln City]]), [[John Poole (footballer, born 1932)|John Poole]] ([[Macclesfield Town F.C.|Macclesfield Town]]), and Peter Hall ([[AFC Bournemouth|Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic]]).<ref name="Kenyt"/>

He added to his squad for the [[1961–62 Port Vale F.C. season|1961–62]] campaign by spending £2,000 on inside-forward [[Arthur Longbottom (footballer)|Arthur Longbottom]] ([[Queens Park Rangers F.C.|Queens Park Rangers]]); £10,000 on Stan Steele (back from West Brom); and £2,000 on centre-half [[John Nicholson (footballer, born 1936)|John Nicholson]] (Liverpool); whilst free signings included winger [[Stan Edwards (footballer, born 1942)|Stan Edwards]] ([[Everton F.C.|Everton]]), goalkeeper [[Peter Taylor (footballer, born 1928)|Peter Taylor]] ([[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]]), and [[Joe Maloney]] ([[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]]).<ref name="Kenyt"/> He sold Cliff Portwood to Grimsby Town for £6,000 to balance the books.<ref name="Kenyt"/> ''[[The Sentinel (Staffordshire)|The Sentinel]]'' commented that "gloom has descended" following a poor start to the season, however, the Vale's form improved after Low sold [[Dennis Fidler]] to Grimsby Town for £2,000, signed [[Colin Grainger]] from [[Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United]] for £6,000, and further added to his firepower by signing [[Ralph Hunt (footballer)|Ralph Hunt]] from [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] for £3,500.<ref name="Kenyt"/> Stanley Matthews' return to the [[Victoria Ground]] resulted in Low unsuccessfully trying to tempt [[Tom Finney]] out of retirement.<ref name="Kenyt"/> The Vale finished in 12th place, and Low sold three players for £2,000 each: [[Brian Jackson (footballer, born 1933)|Brian Jackson]] to [[Peterborough United F.C.|Peterborough United]], Ralph Hunt to [[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]], and [[David Raine]] to [[Doncaster Rovers F.C.|Doncaster Rovers]].<ref name="Kenyt"/>

Low planned for the [[1962–63 Port Vale F.C. season|1962–63]] season by signing [[John Rowland (footballer, born 1941)|John Rowland]], a 'tall and skilful' outside-right from [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]], for £6,000.<ref name="Kenyt"/> His team began reasonably well. However, Low could not 'see eye to eye with the board on their buying policy' and tendered his resignation in October 1962.<ref name="Kent">{{cite book|last=Kent|first=Jeff|title=Port Vale Personalities|publisher=Witan Books|page=177|year=1996|isbn=0-9529152-0-0}}</ref> One staff member later reported that Low had travelled to [[Huddersfield Town A.F.C.|Huddersfield Town]] to sign [[Willie Davie]] for a £20,000 fee; However, during his absence the Port Vale directors finalised agreements for Freddie Steele to return to the club, and upon his return he found himself out of a job.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=Denis|title=Port Vale: Grass Roots Revisited|publisher=Three Counties Publishing|year=2010|pages=66–67|isbn=978-0-9554845-7-5}}</ref>

===Later career===
Low later served as a [[Scout (association football)|scout]] at [[Stoke City F.C.|Stoke City]] and [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] before taking up the reins at [[Non-League football|non-League]] [[Witton Albion F.C.|Witton Albion]]<ref name="Kent" /> in 1967. He later emigrated to North America, where he became the coach of the short-lived [[National Professional Soccer League (1967)|National Professional Soccer League]] side [[Cleveland Stokers]].<ref name="Kent" />

==Personal life==
He was the son of [[Scotland national football team|Scottish]] international player [[Wilf Low]].<ref name="lfch">{{cite web|url=http://www.lfchistory.net/player_profile.asp?player_id=720|title=Norman Low|work=lfchistory.net|access-date=10 June 2009}}</ref> His uncle [[Harry Low|Harry]] and cousin [[Willie Low|Willie]]<ref name="AFCHT-willie">[https://backoffice.afc.co.uk/Team/CurrentSquad/player_show.cfm?player_id=710 William Low], AFC Heritage Trust</ref><ref>The reference states Wilf and Harry and were half-brothers to Willie, but he was the son of William, a much older brother.</ref> were also footballers.

==Career statistics==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref name="ENFA">{{ENFA}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|[[FA Cup]]
!colspan="2"|Other
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]]
|[[1934–35 Liverpool F.C. season|1934–35]]
|[[Football League First Division|First Division]]
|11||0||0||0||0||0||11||0
|-
|[[1935–36 Liverpool F.C. season|1935–36]]
|First Division
|1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
|[[1936–37 Liverpool F.C. season|1936–37]]
|First Division
|1||0||0||0||0||0||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!13!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!13!!0
|-
|rowspan="7"|[[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]]
|[[1936–37 Newport County A.F.C. season|1936–37]]
|[[Football League Third Division South|Third Division South]]
|28||0||2||0||0||0||30||0
|-
|[[1937–38 Newport County A.F.C. season|1937–38]]
|Third Division South
|38||0||4||0||2||0||44||0
|-
|[[1938–39 Newport County A.F.C. season|1938–39]]
|Third Division South
|42||0||4||0||1||0||47||0
|-
|1939–40
|
|0||0||0||0||3||0||3||0
|-
|1945–46
|
|0||0||5||0||0||0||5||0
|-
|[[1946–47 Newport County A.F.C. season|1946–47]]
|[[Football League Second Division|Second Division]]
|4||0||0||0||0||0||4||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!112!!0!!15!!0!!6!!0!!133!!0
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]]
|[[1946–47 Norwich City F.C. season|1946–47]]
|Third Division South
|32||0||3||0||0||0||35||0
|-
|[[1947–48 Norwich City F.C. season|1947–48]]
|Third Division South
|36||0||3||0||0||0||39||0
|-
|[[1947–48 Norwich City F.C. season|1947–48]]
|Third Division South
|40||0||2||0||0||0||42||0
|-
|[[1949–50 Norwich City F.C. season|1948–50]]
|Third Division South
|42||0||5||0||0||0||47||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!150!!0!!13!!0!!0!!0!!163!!0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!275!!0!!28!!0!!6!!0!!309!!0
|}

==Managerial statistics==
:Source:<ref name="ENFA"/><ref>{{Soccerbase manager|993}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Managerial record by team and tenure
|-
!rowspan=2|Team
!rowspan=2|From
!rowspan=2|To
!colspan=5|Record
|-
!{{abbr|P|Matches played}}!!{{abbr|W|Matches won}}!!{{abbr|D|Matches drawn}}!!{{abbr|L|Matches lost}}!!{{abbr|Win %|Win percentage}}
|-
|align=left|[[Norwich City F.C.|Norwich City]]
|align=left|4 March 1950
|align=left|22 April 1955
{{WDL||129|56|73|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Workington A.F.C.|Workington]]
|align=left|1 January 1956
|align=left|1 February 1957
{{WDL|53|24|14|15|decimals=1}}
|-
|align=left|[[Port Vale F.C.|Port Vale]]
|align=left|1 February 1957
|align=left|1 October 1962
{{WDL|285|116|65|104|decimals=1}}
|-
!colspan=3|Total
{{WDLtot|596|269|135|192|decimals=1}}
|}

==Honours==
===As a player===
'''Newport County'''
*[[Football League Third Division South]]: [[1938–39 Football League|1938–39]]

===As a manager===
'''Port Vale'''
*[[Football League Fourth Division]]: [[1958–59 Port Vale F.C. season|1958–59]]

==See also==
* [[List of Scottish football families]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Norwich City F.C. managers}}
{{Workington A.F.C. managers}}
{{Port Vale F.C. managers}}
{{Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Low, Norman}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:Anglo-Scots]]
[[Category:Footballers from Aberdeen]]
[[Category:Footballers from Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:Scottish men's footballers]]
[[Category:Men's association football defenders]]
[[Category:Newcastle United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Liverpool F.C. players]]
[[Category:Newport County A.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Bristol City F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Everton F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Liverpool F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Swindon Town F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Lovell's Athletic F.C. wartime guest players]]
[[Category:Norwich City F.C. players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Scottish football managers]]
[[Category:Scottish expatriate football managers]]
[[Category:Norwich City F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Workington A.F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Port Vale F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Witton Albion F.C. managers]]
[[Category:Association football scouts]]
[[Category:Liverpool F.C. non-playing staff]]
[[Category:English Football League managers]]
[[Category:Scottish emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States]]
[[Category:North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches]]