Charles Howlett (September 1864 – 17 August 1906) 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 ...

who played for Sheffield United as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

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 ...

, with whom he made over 100 competitive appearances. Born in Glanford he also had two spells at

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

Playing career

Howlett started his career in Gainsborough,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

but was living in

Grenoside Grenoside is a suburb of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The suburb falls within the West Ecclesfield ward of the city. History The name Grenoside is derived from the language of the Anglo-Saxons. The name Grenoside, which was first ...

near

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

when Sheffield United placed adverts in the local press announcing the formation of the club and asking for players. Responding to the appeal he was selected as the side's first goalkeeper and remained with the club for five seasons. He appeared in the club's first ever game against

Notts Rangers Notts Rangers Football Club was an English football club, founded in 1868 under the name Nottingham St James. They became Nottingham Rangers in 1880 and by 1886 were habitually referred to as Notts Rangers. History A founder member of the Midla ...

and in their debut

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 ...

campaign which saw both the team's biggest ever victory and heaviest ever defeat in the competition, a 13–0 defeat at the hands of

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 ...

. Howlett had poor eyesight and needed to wear glasses during games and as a consequence tried to avoid being charged by opposition players, often punching away shots instead of catching them, including shots along the ground. During the FA Cup game against Bolton it was reported that he had spent most of the game searching for his glasses in the muddy goalmouth. Despite this Howlett remained first choice keeper for the club's first three seasons but shared goalkeeping duties with

Will Lilley William James Lilley (born 1885, date of death unknown) was a footballer who played as a goalkeeper for both Sheffield United and Rotherham Town in The Football League. Career Born in Staveley in Derbyshire, England he began his career alongsi ...

for the following two. Following his departure from

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

Howlett returned to his previous club

where he played for another nine seasons before retiring.

Honours

Sheffield United *

Football League Division Two The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

**Runner-up: 1892–93

Personal life

After retiring from playing Howlett settled in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

before returning to live in Gainsborough following the death of his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howlett, Charlie 1864 births 1906 deaths People from Brigg Men's association football goalkeepers English men's footballers English Football League players Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Midland Football League players Northern Football League players