Arthur Rowley (born 1870; date of death unknown) was an English footballer who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Burslem Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

and Stoke, and in the Southern League with Bristol Rovers. He was the first player to score a goal straight from a direct free kick in the Football League.

Career

Rowley played for Leek, Distillery, and the North Staffordshire Regiment, before joining Stoke in 1896. He became a useful addition to the Stoke squad, taking over the right half position from the ageing

Davy Brodie David Brodie (9 November 1863 – 1938) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Stoke. Brodie was one of a generation of Scottish footballers who moved to England to become professional footballers. Brodie was one of m ...

. He played four First Division games in the 1896–97 season, before becoming a first team regular in the 1897–98 and 1898–99 campaigns. He spent three seasons at the Victoria Ground, making 62 appearances. He played for Bristol Rovers in the Southern League before joining

in September 1902. He played 27 league games in the 1902–03 season, as Vale posted a ninth-place finish in the Second Division. He became the first player to score a goal straight from a direct free kick in the

on 7 September 1903, in a 3–2 defeat to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

at the Athletic Ground. He claimed two goals in 38 games in the

1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

campaign, but left the club before the start of the

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

season.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Arthur 1870 births Year of death missing Sportspeople from Leek, Staffordshire English footballers Association football midfielders North Staffordshire Regiment soldiers Stoke City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players 19th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from Staffordshire