Arthur Rowe

For the English shot putter, see Arthur Rowe (athlete).

Arthur Rowe
Personal information
Full name Arthur Sydney Rowe
Date of birth (1906-09-01)1 September 1906
Place of birth Tottenham, England
Date of death 5 November 1993(1993-11-05) (aged 87)
Place of death Wallington, England[1]
Position(s) Centre half
Youth career
Northfleet United
Cheshunt
Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1929–1939 Tottenham Hotspur 182 (0)
International career
1933 England 1 (0)
Managerial career
1945–1949 Chelmsford City
1949–1955 Tottenham Hotspur
1960–1962 Crystal Palace
1966 Crystal Palace (caretaker)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arthur Sydney Rowe (1 September 1906 – 5 November 1993) was an English footballer, and later manager, who played as a centre half in the 1930s.[2]

Playing career

Rowe was born in Tottenham[3] and began his career at Tottenham Hotspur's nursery club Northfleet United as an amateur in 1923, before becoming a professional with "Spurs" in 1929.[3] He also appeared as an amateur for Cheshunt in 1920. He was a Tottenham player for eight seasons, after making his debut in 1931,[4] in which time he played 201 games, in all competitions, and earned his single cap for the England team. He was forced to retire in 1939 due to a cartilage injury.[3]

Managerial career

Chelmsford City

After finishing his career as a player, Rowe took a coaching job in Hungary although this was halted due to the outbreak of World War II. He returned to Britain and joined the military as a physical training instructor.[3] He joined Chelmsford City, as secretary-manager, in 1945[4] and made the club into a leading non-league team.[3]

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur were in the second division when Rowe returned to the club as manager in 1949 and his task was to gain promotion. This was achieved by becoming Champions and the following season the First Division Championship was won as well. These back-to-back championships made Spurs the first post-war team to win back-to-back titles. This was achieved through the use of 'Push and run' football.[3]

Rowe was forced to resign as Tottenham manager in 1955 due to health issues.[3]

Crystal Palace

After leaving Tottenham, Rowe took time off to recover and joined Crystal Palace in November 1958[3] as an assistant to George Smith. He was promoted to manager when Smith resigned in April 1960[1] bringing the club a promotion to Division Three in the 1960–61 season. The club consolidated its position in Division Three in 1961–62, but a poor start to the next season coincided with failing health for Rowe and he resigned in December 1962[3] to be replaced by assistant manager Dick Graham. Rowe returned to assist Graham in the 1963–64 season (when Palace was promoted to Division Two)[1] and when Graham was dismissed by Palace in 1966, Rowe was appointed caretaker-manager. After Bert Head was appointed as manager later in 1966, Rowe continued with Palace in a scouting capacity. He subsequently managed the Hall of Fame in London[3] and also assisted Leyton Orient briefly in 1972.[3]

Rowe died on 5 November 1993 in Wallington, aged 87.[1]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
England 1933 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

As a manager

Tottenham Hotspur

References

  1. ^ a b c d King, Ian. Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–2011. The Derby Books Publishing Company. pp. 208–9. ISBN 9781780910468.
  2. ^ Lanfranchi, Pierre; Taylor, Matthew (2001). Moving with the Ball: The Migration of Professional Footballers. Berg Publishers. p. 203. ISBN 1-85973-307-7.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel (1990). Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. The Breedon Books Publishing Company. p. 53. ISBN 0907969542.
  4. ^ a b Drury, Reg (11 November 1993). "Obituary: Arthur Rowe". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

See also