Bob Howarth (20 June 1865 – 20 August 1938) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. An England international, he was a member of the Preston North End side which became known as " The Invincibles".

Career

Bob Howarth was born in Preston. He joined

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in 1883, and for eight years was a member of the North End side that earned the title of "The Invincibles". He was in the Preston side that were 1887-88 FA Cup Finalists. The following season, he was in the Preston side that did the double, being

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 ...

Champions and 1888-89 FA Cup Winners. Bob Howarth made his League debut on 8 September 1888 at full-back for Preston North End against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

at Preston North End'

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...

ground in Preston. Preston won 5–2. Bob Howarth played 18 of Preston' 22 League Championship matches and played in a defence-line that achieved nine clean-sheets. In one source Bob Howarth was described as 'a powerful and formidable full-back". In 1891 he joined Everton, before returning to finish his career back at Preston North End. He gained several representative honours, making four appearances for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Outside of football he worked in Preston as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

Professional baseball

Howarth played baseball professionally as an outfielder for

Preston North End Baseball Club Preston North End Baseball Club were a short lived English professional baseball club, who played their home games at Deepdale, competing for the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain. Preston North End Baseball Club Limited were for ...

in the

1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain The 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain was the first, and to date only, professional baseball championship for the national baseball title of Great Britain. The National League's headquarters were located at 38 Holborn Viaduct, Londo ...

, but spent much of the season with the amateur team.

References

External links

English footballers Everton F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players England international footballers 1865 births 1938 deaths English Football League representative players Association football defenders English Football League players FA Cup Final players English baseball players {{england-footy-defender-1860s-stub