Herbert Fowler

Bill Fowler

Personal information
Full name	William Herbert Fowler
Born	(1856-05-28)28 May 1856 Tottenham, London, England
Died	13 April 1941(1941-04-13) (aged 84) Chelsea, London, England
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1880–1885	Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
1882–1884	Somerset
First-class debut	13 May 1880 MCC v Cambridge University
Last First-class	25 June 1885 MCC v Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 26 Runs scored 905 Batting average 18.46 100s/50s 1/2 Top score 139 Balls bowled 1014 Wickets 23 Bowling average 22.65 5 wickets in innings 0 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling 4/8 Catches/stumpings 6/–
Source: CricketArchive, 26 February 2011

William Herbert Fowler (28 May 1856 – 13 April 1941), also known as Bill Fowler and Herbert Fowler, was an English amateur cricketer who played 26 first-class cricket matches during the 1880s, principally for Somerset County Cricket Club. He was an all-rounder who was best known for his big-hitting when batting. He was also a famous golf course architect, and designed Walton Heath Golf Club among many others in the United Kingdom and United States.

Fowler was born in Tottenham, London as the son of William Fowler, a barrister, and Rachel Maria, née Howard. In 1893, he worked as a banker, and during this time, he invested heavily, especially in the Americas.

Fowler began his county cricket career at Essex County Cricket Club in 1877. A move to Somerset in the late 1870s saw him switch counties, and he began playing for Somerset County Cricket Club in 1879. His first-class debut was not for a county team, but instead for the well-known Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 1880. Facing Cambridge University, Fowler scored 36 runs in his only innings. He passed 50 for the first time in his following match, also for the MCC, scoring 61 runs after opening the innings against Oxford University. He played in Somerset's first ever first-class match in 1882, opening the innings alongside Edward Sainsbury, but his scores of 9 and 18 were the county's highest in each innings as they lost the match by an innings. Later that season, playing against the MCC at Lord's, Fowler had his best bowling performance in first-class cricket, claiming four wickets during his seven overs, conceding just eight runs. In the same match, having scored a duck in the first innings, he scored 23 in the second, which included a boundary which travelled a reputed 157 yards before landing, leaving the ground. When the MCC visited Taunton that season, he reached his highest total in first-class cricket, totalling 139, his innings scattered with boundaries.