Joseph Gowdy (born 7 December 1897) was a

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 ...

from Northern Ireland who played as a

right half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, although in his early career he was a

centre 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 ...

and in latter years was deployed at centre half. He came to prominence after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a goalscorer with

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

in his native

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, and from there moved to Scotland with

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

in November 1920; however, he failed to lead the attack as had been hoped, with the club bringing in Englishman

Syd Puddefoot Sydney Charles Puddefoot (17 October 1894 – 2 October 1972) was an English footballer who played for West Ham United, Falkirk and Blackburn Rovers. He played mainly as a centre forward or inside right. He was also a cricketer for Essex. ...

for a record fee in 1922. Gowdy is said to have then returned to Ireland without informing Falkirk, intending to play for Glentoran again while the Scottish club tried to have him return to them without success. It was agreed that he would instead play on loan with

Queen's Island Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, is a large-scale waterfront regeneration, comprising historic maritime landmarks, film studios, education facilities, apartments, a riverside entertainment district, and the world's largest Titanic ...

in Belfast. The move worked out well for player and club as Queen's Island won the

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

of Irish Football League and

Irish Cup The Irish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly referred to as the Irish Cup (currently known as the Samuel Gelston's Whiskey Irish Cup for sponsorship purposes) is the primary football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland. Ina ...

in the 1923–24 season. Gowdy then returned to Falkirk, initially playing alongside Puddefoot (who left during that season) but then in more defensive positions (where he had also been used in Ireland) to good effect, making close to 100 appearances across the next four seasons. In 1928 he moved on to East Fife where he played for three years before retiring from top class football, helping the club to secure promotion from the Scottish Second Division in 1929–30, although in the next campaign they struggled in the top tier. Gowdy gained six caps for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the first in 1919 when he was with Glentoran, the second while with Queen's Island in 1924 and four with Falkirk, the last coming in 1927. He also played four times for the Irish League representative team. His younger brother

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

was also a footballer; he too gained six caps for Ireland, but they did not play together for their country (nor any club) – Bill did not get his first cap until 1931.Bill Gowdy
Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats, 11 December 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowdy, Joe 1897 births Year of death unknown 20th-century deaths Irish League representative players Men's association football wing halves Men's association football forwards Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Scottish Football League players NIFL Premiership players Glentoran F.C. players Queen's Island F.C. players Falkirk F.C. players East Fife F.C. players