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

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 {{England-footy-forward-1880s-stub