Walter Gowers (first ¼ 1903 – third ¼ 1965) was a professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and

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 ...

(soccer) footballer who played in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He played representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

(non-

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

es), and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and at club level for Platt

Lane In road transport, a lane is part of a roadway that is designated to be used by a single line of vehicles to control and guide drivers and reduce traffic conflicts. Most public roads (highways) have at least two lanes, one for traffic in each ...

ARLFC (in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

), the

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

(two spells), and St. Helens ( Heritage № 450), as a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

-kicking , i.e. number 1, and club level

(soccer) for Preston North End (reserves in 1926), as a full-back.

Background

Walter Gowers' birth was registered in

district,

, England, he worked as a

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

, he lived at High Birch Terrace, Rochdale, and he died aged 62 in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

district,

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Walter Gowers represented

in non-

es on the 1928 Great Britain rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand, scoring 27-

County honours

Walter Gowers represented

while at

, winning four

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

medals.

Club career

Walter Gowers came out of retirement aged to play one match for Rochdale Hornets against

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

on Saturday 12 January 1946.

Career records

Walter Gowers holds Rochdale Hornets' "most appearances in a career" record with 456-appearances between 1922 and 1946, and holds Rochdale Hornets' "most points in a career" record with 1497-points scored between 1922 and 1946. He previously held Rochdale Hornets' "most goals in a season" record with 109-goals during the 1933–34 season, this record was extended by Graham Starkey during the 1966–67 season.

Genealogical information

Walter Gowers' marriage to Mary E. (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Prescott) was registered during first ¼ 1929 in

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

district. They had children; Winifred J. Gowers
birth registered
third ¼ 1930 in

district), John Gowers
birth registered
first ¼ 1934 in

district), and the rugby league footballer;

Ken Gowers J. Kenneth Gowers (15 October 1936 – 19 October 2017) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain (vice-captain), England and Rugby League X ...

. Walter Gowers was the great-grandfather of the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

and England cricketer John Simpson (Ken Gowers' grandson).

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowers, Walter 1903 births 1965 deaths English rugby league players Footballers from Wigan Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Wigan St Helens R.F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks English footballers