Robert Michael Howfield (born 3 December 1936) is an English former professional sportsman who played both

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

Early and personal life

Howfield was born in

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, a ...

, and his son Ian Howfield kicked for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

in 1991.

Career

Association football

Howfield played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, known for his volatility. Howfield began his association football career with local side Bushey F.C., before signing amateur terms with

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

in May 1957. He became a professional with

in September 1957, playing for the club until July 1959, when he moved to

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

. In October 1959, however, he moved to

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

, where his 23 league goals in the 1961–62 season were a club record for a number of years. He played for the club until July 1962 when he returned to Watford for a "substantial fee". Howfield moved to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in November 1965 for £6000, having made 101 appearances and scored 25 goals in his two spells with the club. He scored three goals for Fulham in the last ten goal performance by a top-flight club. During 1965 Howfield went to play with the

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

of the

International Soccer League The International Soccer League was a U.S.-based soccer league which was formed in 1960 and collapsed in 1965. The League, affiliated with the American Soccer League, featured guest teams primarily from Europe and some from Asia, South America, C ...

. He returned to Aldershot in August 1965, playing for the

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

club until 1967, before playing non-League football with

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...

American football

Known for his powerful shooting, Howfield returned to America to take up American football as a place kicker. Between 1968 and 1970 he played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

, before moving to the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

in 1971, playing for them until 1974.

Later life

After his retirement from sport he worked in the insurance department of a Denver bank, and he still lives close to the city.Where are they now?
wfc.net

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howfield, Bobby 1936 births Living people Sportspeople from Watford Association football forwards English footballers Millwall F.C. players Watford F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players English Football League players American football placekickers Denver Broncos (AFL) players New York Jets players Denver Broncos players English players of American football Association football players that played in the NFL New York Americans (soccer) players