Frank Bowyer Explained

Frank Bowyer
Full Name:Francis Bowyer
Birth Date:1922 4, df=y
Birth Place:Chesterton, England
Death Place:Truro, England
Position:Inside forward
Years1:1937–1960
Clubs1:Stoke City
Caps1:398
Goals1:137
Years2:1960–1963
Caps2:114
Goals2:69
Totalcaps:512
Totalgoals:206
Manageryears1:1960–1963
Managerclubs1:Macclesfield Town

Francis "Frank" Bowyer (10 April 1922 – 11 November 1999) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward for Stoke City.[1] [2]

Career

Bowyer was born in Chesterton, Staffordshire and played for Stoke-on-Trent schools before joining Stoke City's ground staff at 15. He signed professional forms in July 1939 just before the start of World War II and he played 28 matches in 1940–41 as also guested for Derby County during the war. He missed all of Stoke's 1946–47 season due to his national service.[2] He was demobbed in February 1948 and made his Football League debut two months short of his 26th birthday some nine years after signing as a professional.[2]

He was renowned for his powerful volley shot and he top scored for Stoke in 1948–49 scoring 21 goals which put him up there with the best in the country.[2] He then handed in a transfer request which was accepted by manager Bob McGrory who wanted to swap him for Bolton's Willie Moir but Bowyer changed his mind and withdrew his request and he remained at Stoke for the rest of his career.[2] He top scored again in 1949–50 with 15 then with 19 in 1950–51. Stoke under new manager Frank Taylor suffered relegation in 1952–53 and Bowyer was top goalscorer in 1953–54, 1955–56 and 1959–60 as Stoke failed to gain a return to the top flight.[2] Taylor paid the price for failure and was replaced by Tony Waddington who deemed the 38-year-old Bowyer surplus to requirements and he was released which caused some controversy as he was only three league goals short of Freddie Steele's record of 140.[2] He ended his career with three years as a player manager of Macclesfield Town.[2]

Post retirement

He moved to Newquay with his wife where he became a school caretaker.[2] He died in a hospital in Truro after a short illness in November 1999 aged 77.[2]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueFA CupOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stoke City1947–48First Division100010
1948–49First Division3121403521
1949–50First Division4215104315
1950–51First Division3916434319
1951–52First Division15140191
1952–53First Division29320313
1953–54Second Division4114344418
1954–55Second Division2913623515
1955–56Second Division4216524718
1956–57Second Division3814103914
1957–58Second Division36550415
1958–59Second Division24620266
1959–60Second Division3113113214
Total3981373812436!149
Macclesfield Town1960–61Cheshire League412962214932
1961–62Cheshire League422520745129
1962–63Cheshire League311500413516
Total114698213613577
Career total5122064614136571226

Notes and References

  1. Book: Matthews, Tony. The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. 1994. Lion Press. 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. Book: Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. 2002. Desert Islands Books. 1-874287554.