GoS-DB Players

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Greens on Screen started its life in 1999 before many of the football sites that we are familiar with today, including Plymouth Argyle's own official site. Greens on Screen is dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of Plymouth Argyle Football club. It is owned and run by the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive, a charity dedicated to the promotion, preservation, and display of the heritage of our great football club.

The site owes its existence to Steve Dean.Without Steve's dedication and commitment for over 25 years, GoS would not exist and be the valued and loved resource for all football fans that it is today. The site is truly the envy of many clubs, and we owe a huge debt to Steve for his tireless work, and continued support behind the scenes.

Greens on Screen's first page was published in January 1999. Its early purpose was to bring Plymouth Argyle a little closer to those unable to see their team, and whilst it has changed a great deal over the years, its core themes - sights and sounds for Westcountry exiles - still stand. The site was very lucky to take on the content of Trevor Scallan's Semper Viridis in the summer of 2007, and in 2009 launched GoS-DB, a wealth of facts and figures from PAFC's history. A year later, we embarked on a complete history of Argyle, with much-valued contributions from chapter authors. Greens on Screen was taken over by its new custodians, The Argyle Archive, in 2024.

Greens on Screen is an amateur website and proud of it. It is run by a team of volunteers from the Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive (Argyle Archive). Without the hard work and much-valued contributions of these volunteers, running the site would not be possible. Greens on Screen is self-taught and as a result, a little bit quirky.

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Plymouth Argyle Heritage Archive.
April 2024

Can you help? This page is the result of the best endeavours of all concerned. If you spot a mistake or know of facts to add, or have a better photo, please get in touch using 'Contact Us' (top, right).

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JACK ROWLEY

Born: 07 October 1918

Came from: Manchester United Went to: Appointed Manager

First game: 19 February 1955 Last game: 13 April 1957

Appearances: 58 (58/0) Goals: 15

Peter Shilton apart, Wolverhampton-born Rowley is one of the biggest stars to have played for Plymouth Argyle.

After being released by his home town club at the age of 18, he signed for Bournemouth in 1937. After just 10 games and 11 goals at the start of the 1937-38 season he was snapped up by Manchester United, making his debut in October 1937.

He lost seven seasons to the Second World War, but went on to be a huge player for United, where he remains fourth in their list of all time goal-scorers, behind Wayne Rooney, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, with 211 goals. His terrific shot earned him the nickname 'Gunner,' thought to be linked to his Army service which included time in France soon after the D-Day landings. He scored twice in their 4-2 win over Blackpool in the 1948 Cup Final and, in helping the Old Trafford side to the League title in 1952, became the first United player to score 30 goals in a season since 1928. He played six times for England and averaged a goal a game.

In 1955, with his powers waning and the first of the famous Busby Babes breaking into the first team, Matt Busby agreed to release him to become player-manager at Home Park, offering a glowing endorsement of Rowley's contribution to development of those famous young players at Old Trafford. Playing a deeper role than he had for United, he still scored 15 times in 58 games for Argyle. He saved them from relegation in his first season but they went down the next. After an ordinary season in the third tier he retired from playing and built a side which came close to promotion in 1957-58. The next season his side fulfilled their promise and won the Third Division, leading the table for all but a couple of weeks.

In his time at Home Park, using his many contacts in the game Rowley signed a string of quality players from First Division reserve sides, including Harry Penk, Wilf Carter, Jimmy Gauld, Gordon Fincham, Alec Jackson, George Kirby, Jimmy MacAnearney and long serving skipper Johnny Newman. He also converted Johnny Williams from an ordinary inside forward into an outstanding wing-half back.

Argyle struggled after the promotion and Rowley was dismissed in March 1960, bitterly disappointed that he first read about it in the Western Evening Herald. He went on to manage Oldham (twice), Wrexham, Bradford Park Avenue and Ajax before leaving the game to run a post office in Shaw, Lancashire.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

If you can add to this profile, perhaps with special memories, a favourite story or the results of your original research, please contribute here.

APPEARANCE DETAILS [reselect competitions]

The details below reflect appearances in all first-team competitions.

I'm very grateful to many who have helped write GoS-DB's player pen-pictures, and to Dave Rowntree, the PAFC Media Team and Colin Parsons for their help with photos. Thanks also to staff at the National Football Museum, the Scottish Football Museum and ScotlandsPeople for their valuable assistance.

The following publications have been particularly valuable in the research of pen-pictures: Plymouth Argyle, A Complete Record 1903-1989 (Brian Knight, ISBN 0-907969-40-2); Plymouth Argyle, 101 Golden Greats (Andy Riddle, ISBN 1-874287-47-3); Football League Players' Records 1888-1939 (Michael Joyce, ISBN 1-899468-67-6); Football League Players' Records 1946-1988 (Barry Hugman, ISBN 1-85443-020-3) and Plymouth Argyle Football Club Handbooks.

Greens on Screen is run as a service to fellow supporters, in all good faith, without commercial or private gain. I have no wish to abuse copyright regulations and apologise unreservedly if this occurs. If you own any of the material used on this site, and object to its inclusion, please get in touch using the 'Contact Us' button at the top of each page. Search facility powered by JRank Search Engine. UK time at page load: 21 November 2024, 09:01.