Michael Dowling (30 March 1890 – 1969) 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 made 35 appearances in 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 ...

playing 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 ...

for

The Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

and Lincoln City. He also played for St Mirren in the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, wh ...

, for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...

in the Southern League, and in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

Life and career

Dowling was born in 1890 in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, the son of Arthur Patrick Dowling, a merchant seaman, and his wife Catherine ''née'' Dowey. He attended St Bede's Catholic School in the town and played for St Bede's F.C. Dowling moved on to Jarrow Croft, from where he joined

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as t ...

club St Mirren in September 1909. He played mainly at

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, but also appeared in other

positions, scored four goals from 16 appearances in all competitions, and St Mirren were keen to retain his services at the end of the season, but he chose to return to England. He signed for

in May 1910, and made his English

debut on 17 September away to

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 place of Sam Kirkman. Despite his early goal being disallowed for fouling an opponent, his team won 3–1. He played in the next three matches, once at outside right and twice at

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 a further three in the second half of the season, all in the First Division. When Wednesday's

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

, Robert Brown, left to become secretary-manager of

, newly relegated to the Second Division of the Southern League and struggling financially, Dowling and another young forward, Frank Stringfellow, went along. The pseudonymous "Athleo" of the Sheffield ''

Sports Special Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...

'' "

ould Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد‎ (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames. Notable p ...

not understand Dowling being allowed to go", and later described him as "a good worker with a sensible habit of popping frequently at goal." Dowling helped Portsmouth finish as runners-up in his first season, and remained with the club for a further season at the higher level, before returning to his native north-east where he signed for

, an amalgamation of the former Jarrow Croft and Jarrow Caledonians clubs. After one season in the

North-Eastern League The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England. The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although som ...

, Dowling returned to the Football League with Lincoln City. He made 14 appearances in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, and scored his first Football League goal, on 17 April 1915 in a 2–1 defeat away to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

. His ability to play in any forward position made him valuable cover for Jack Manning,

Arthur Wolstenholme Arthur E. Wolstenholme (14 May 1889 – 1958) was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward. He was predominantly used as an inside-right, but could also play at inside-left if required. In a career spanning 17 years, he ...

or Frank Pattison, and he earned himself a reputation as "a dashing and assertive forward", but he was never a first choice in the side. Dowling returned to Jarrow during the First World War where he worked in the shipyards. He married Julia Pearson in 1915, but the marriage was not a success. In 1919, she summoned him for desertion. According to her evidence, she had left him more than once because he mistreated her, and after he joined the Navy in 1918 he had stopped paying her allowance. The court ruled that there was no desertion, and made no order against Dowling. After demobilisation he rejoined Lincoln City, and made a further 14 appearances during the first post-war season, at the end of which Lincoln finished 21st and failed to be re-elected. Dowling moved on to

, scored freely as they won the Southern League Welsh Section in 1921–22 and the overall Southern League title the following year, his record including four goals "in about ten minutes" as Ebbw Vale beat

Abertillery Abertillery (; cy, Abertyleri) is a town and a community of the Ebbw Fach valley in the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area. ...

9–0 in March 1923, and was still playing for them in the 1924–25 season. The 1939 Register finds Dowling living in

Kilnhurst Kilnhurst is a village in South Yorkshire, England, on the banks of the River Don and the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation. It grew up around the coal mining, ceramics, glass, brick-making and locomotive industries; none of these ind ...

, Yorkshire, and working as a colliery fitter. His death at the age of 79 was registered in the Rother Valley district of Yorkshire in the last quarter of 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Michael 1890 births 1969 deaths Footballers from Jarrow Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Jarrow F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Ebbw Vale F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Southern Football League players Date of death missing Place of death missing