Frank Bowyer

Frank Bowyer

Personal information
Full name	Francis Bowyer[1]
Date of birth	10 April 1922[1]
Place of birth	Chesterton, England[1]
Date of death	11 November 1999 (aged 77)[2]
Place of death	Truro, England[2]
Playing position	Inside forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1937–1960	Stoke City	398	(137)
1960–1962	Macclesfield Town	113	(69)
Total		511	(206)
Teams managed
1960–1963	Macclesfield Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (goals)

Francis "Frank" Bowyer (10 April 1922 – 11 November 1999) was an English footballer who played 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 but 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 controversy as he was only three 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

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City[1]	1947–48	First Division	1	0	0	0	1	0
	1948–49	First Division	31	21	4	0	35	21
	1949–50	First Division	42	15	1	0	43	15
	1950–51	First Division	39	16	4	3	43	19
	1951–52	First Division	15	1	4	0	19	1
	1952–53	First Division	29	3	2	0	31	3
	1953–54	Second Division	41	14	3	4	44	18
	1954–55	Second Division	29	13	6	2	35	15
	1955–56	Second Division	42	16	5	2	47	18
	1956–57	Second Division	38	14	1	0	39	14
	1957–58	Second Division	36	5	5	0	41	5
	1958–59	Second Division	24	6	2	0	26	6
	1959–60	Second Division	31	13	1	1	32	14
Career Total			398	137	38	12	436	149

References

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