Francis "Frank" Bowyer (10 April 1922 – 11 November 1999) 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 ...

who played as an

inside forward 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 ...

for Stoke City.

Career

Bowyer was born in Chesterton, Staffordshire and played for Stoke-on-Trent schools before joining Stoke City's ground staff at 15. He signed professional forms in July 1939 just before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and he played 28 matches in 1940–41 as also guested for

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

during the war. He missed all of Stoke's 1946–47 season due to his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

. He was demobbed in February 1948 and made his Football League debut two months short of his 26th birthday some nine years after signing as a professional. He was renowned for his powerful volley shot and he top scored for Stoke in 1948–49 scoring 21 goals which put him up there with the best in the country. He then handed in a transfer request which was accepted by manager

Bob McGrory Robert Gerald McGrory (17 October 1891 – 24 May 1954) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Burnley and Stoke City with whom he later had a long spell as manager. McGrory played football with Dumbarton before joining ...

who wanted to swap him for Bolton's Willie Moir but Bowyer changed his mind and withdrew his request and he remained at Stoke for the rest of his career. He top scored again in 1949–50 with 15 then with 19 in 1950–51. Stoke under new manager Frank Taylor suffered relegation in 1952–53 and Bowyer was top goalscorer in 1953–54, 1955–56 and 1959–60 as Stoke failed to gain a return to the top flight. Taylor paid the price for failure and was replaced by

Tony Waddington Anthony Waddington (9 November 1924 – 21 January 1994) was an English football manager at both Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City. Waddington had a seven-year playing career with Crewe Alexandra before becoming a coach at Stoke City. He progre ...

who deemed the 38-year-old Bowyer surplus to requirements and he was released which caused some controversy as he was only three league goals short of

Freddie Steele Freddie Steele (December 18, 1912 – August 22, 1984) was a boxer and film actor born Frederick Earle Burgett in Seattle, Washington. He was recognized as the National Boxing Association (NBA) Middleweight Champion of the World between 1936 ...

's record of 140. He ended his career with three years as a player manager of

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 ...

Post retirement

He moved to

Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...

with his wife where he became a school caretaker. He died in a hospital in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

after a short illness in November 1999 aged 77.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowyer, Frank 1922 births 1999 deaths English men's footballers English football managers People from Chesterton, Staffordshire Stoke City F.C. players English Football League players Macclesfield Town F.C. players Newquay A.F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. managers Men's association football inside forwards Footballers from Staffordshire