Bill Rowley
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Spencer Rowley | ||
| Date of birth | 1865 | ||
| Place of birth | Hanley, Staffordshire, England | ||
| Date of death | 1939 (aged 73–74) | ||
| Place of death | United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | 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 | 124 | (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. |
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William Spencer 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 1895 and 1897.
He played for Burslem Port Vale, before joining Stoke in 1887. He played in the first ever season of the Football League, before helping the "Potters" to the Football Alliance title in 1890–91. He also won England caps in 1889 and 1892. After struggling with injuries, he was appointed player-manager at Stoke in 1896, and took the club to sixth in the league. However he left the game for good after being censored for arranging his own transfer to Leicester Fosse in August 1898.
Rowley was born in Hanley, Staffordshire and started his professional career playing in Stoke's reserve team as a forward in August 1883. He switched to goalkeeping and joined local rivals Burslem Port Vale in April 1884.
Immediately establishing himself as the first choice goalkeeper, 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. He was called up to the England national team for the match against Ireland in 1886, to act as William Rose's reserve.
He broke a rib in a 3–1 friendly defeat at Stoke on 1 May 1886, and as a result Vale successfully sued Stoke in county court, forcing Stoke to pay £20 to charity. Nevertheless, he signed with 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.
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