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Sam Rowbotham

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For the flat Earth proponent, see Samuel Rowbotham.

Sam Rowbotham
Personal information
Full name Sam Rowbotham
Date of birth (1912-12-06)6 December 1912
Place of birth Rotherham, England
Date of death 7 September 1979(1979-09-07) (aged 66)
Place of death Peterborough, England
Height 5 ft 10+1⁄2 in (1.79 m)[1]
Position(s) Left half, inside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1931–1933 Rotherham United 3 (1)
1933–1934 Scarborough
1934–1935 Darlington 17 (1)
1936–1940 Peterborough United 118 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sam Rowbotham (6 December 1912 – 7 September 1979) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward or inside left in the Football League for Rotherham United and Darlington. He also played non-league football for Scarborough[2] and Peterborough United.[3]

Life and career

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Rowbotham was born in Rotherham,[2] which was then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1912. He joined Rotherham United in August 1931,[4] and turned professional the following February.[5] Because of injuries, Rowbotham made his first-team debut on 27 February, playing at left half in a 2–0 win at home to Hull City in the Third Division North.[4][6] That proved to be his only appearance of the season,[4] but he was retained for 1932–33.[7] Playing at inside left, he scored his first Football League goal in a 5–2 loss to New Brighton, and made one more appearance before leaving the club at the end of the season.[4]

Although he had played little first-team football, Rowbotham had been a regular with Rotherham's reserve team in the Midland League, and when he became available he was snapped up by Midland League club Scarborough.[8] He went straight into the team at left half, impressed,[9] and remained in the team for the rest of the season.[1]

In July 1934, he signed for Third Division North club Darlington.[1] He made his debut at right half on 28 September in a 3–0 loss to Gateshead, and played once more in that position before having a run of games at the end of the season, taking over at left half from Joe Hodgson.[10] He scored once, a 40-yard (37 m) free kick against his former club, Rotherham United.[11] He played in the first four matches of the 1935–36 season, to take his appearance total to 17, after which Hodgson returned to favour.[10]

Released by Darlington on a free transfer,[12] Rowbotham returned to the Midland League with Peterborough United. He played regularly, missing only eight Midland League matches over the next three seasons, and continued for a further season in the 1939–40 emergency competitions.[13]

Rowbotham worked at Peter Brotherhood's armaments factory in Peterborough during the Second World War, and played for their works team after his club closed down for the duration.[14] He remained in the area after the war, and died in Peterborough in 1979 at the age of 66.

Notes

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  • Many sources give Rowbotham the first name of Samuel, but the only birth registered under a similar name in Rotherham in the relevant time period was plain Sam.

References

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For birth and death details

  • Birth registration: "Index entry". FreeBMD. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  • Death registration: "Index entry". FreeBMD. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  • "Wills and Probate 1858–1996: Rowbotham 1979". Probate Service. Retrieved 11 January 2020.

General

  1. ^ a b c "Quakers' signings". North-Eastern Daily Gazette. Middlesbrough. 4 July 1934. p. 7. Rowbotham is well-built and stands 5ft. 10+1/2 in. He played for Rotherham United before joining Scarborough, for whom he appeared in every game last season.
  2. ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 228. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. ^ "Sam Rowbotham: Matches for Peterborough". uptheposh.com. Chris Wilkinson. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "A–Z Past players (pre-1939)". Rotherham United F.C. Archived from the original (DOC) on 10 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Teams for to-day". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 20 February 1932. p. 12. Parkinson and Marsden are amateurs from Sheffield. Rowbotham has now signed professional forms with United.
  6. ^ "Rotherham's difficulty". Leeds Mercury. 26 February 1932. p. 11.
  7. ^ "Rotherham's retained". Sunderland Daily Echo. 10 May 1932. p. 11.
  8. ^ "Midland League prospects. Many new faces at Scarborough". Sheffield Independent. 17 August 1933. p. 10. ... a season and half with Rotherham United and last season made 39 appearances in the Midland League
  9. ^ "Scarborough's form". Leeds Mercury. 21 August 1933. p. 11.
  10. ^ a b Tweddle, Frank (2000). The Definitive Darlington F.C. Nottingham: SoccerData. pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-1-899468-15-7.
  11. ^ "Rotherham fade out". Leeds Mercury. 1 April 1935. p. 16.
  12. ^ "Feethams list". Northern Daily Mail. West Hartlepool. 2 May 1936. p. 7.
  13. ^ "Sam Rowbotham: Matches for Peterborough". Up The Posh. Chris Wilkinson. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Local Teams of Yesteryear Peterborough & Dist. League 1930–1960". Your Grandad's Football. Eric Heath. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
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