Archie Bown (1882 – 19 August 1958) was a
football inside left
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
.
Football career
Born in
Highworth
Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, Bown began his football career playing for the local Swindon Casuals team. It was here that
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
spotted him and offered him a trial, playing one first team match in February 1904. Having not proved himself adequately he returned to his old team and his job as a turner and fitter in the
Great Western Railway's
Workshop
Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the on ...
.
Bown returned to Swindon Town in 1907, signing a professional contract. He went on to score 9 goals in 16 appearances that season and regularly appeared on the scoresheet from then on. 1911/12 was his most prolific season for the club, when he scored 23 goals in
Southern League matches. He was part of the team that from 1909–12 won the
Dubonnet Cup and the Southern Charity Cup, whilst also becoming Runner's up of the
Charity Shield and twice
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
semi-finalists. He scored a goal in the 1912 FA Cup run that ultimately knocked
Everton out of the competition, causing a minor upset at the time.
Bown helped Swindon to their second Southern League championship in 1914, making 36 appearances and scoring 18 times and in April 1915 he scored all six of Swindon's goals in a 6–0 win against
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
.
His career with the team was ended by the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
although he remains Swindon's fifth-highest goalscorer.
He guested for
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
during the war and afterwards appeared for
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
and
Weymouth. He died in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on 19 August 1958.
References
External links
Swindon Town player profileBristol City player profile
1882 births
1958 deaths
People from Highworth
Bristol City F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
Southampton F.C. wartime guest players
Weymouth F.C. players
Association football forwards
Southern Football League players
English footballers
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