Dick Rowley

Early life Rowley was born in Enniskillen, the son of a major in the British army. He moved to Hampshire as a child and was educated at Taunton's Grammar School, Southampton, His next appearance came a few weeks later, in a 3–2 defeat at Watford. While he was registered with Swindon Town, Rowley also made two appearances in November 1925 for the Casuals amateur team in the Isthmian League, scoring once.

In May 1926, he was signed by Southampton of the Football League Second Division, as a replacement for Arthur Dominy who had joined Everton in the summer. Rowley soon developed a good relationship with centre-forward Bill Rawlings,

Rowley's form attracted interest from several larger clubs,

In the following season, with first Petrie and then Herbert Coates being preferred at inside-right, it was not until the end of October that Rowley was once again given a run in the team, this time playing at outside-right. After a few matches at centre-forward, he reverted to inside-right in December, retaining his place for the remainder of the season.

Rowley's best season for the Saints came in 1929–30, when he scored 25 goals from 25 appearances, including hat-tricks in successive matches against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest in September and four goals at Bradford City on 2 November, thus becoming the first Southampton player to score four goals in an away game.

In December 1931, he was signed by Preston North End (also in the Second Division) for a fee of £5,000, with Ted Harper also making the same move. but the match report confirms that this was scored by Joe Bambrick. )

His finest international performance came on 1 February 1930, against Wales at Belfast's Celtic Park, when his passes helped Bambrick score a double hat-trick in a 7–0 victory.

International appearances Rowley made six appearances for Ireland in official international matches, as follows:

Date Venue Opponent Result Goals Competition 2 February 1929 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 2–2 0 British Home Championship 23 February 1929 Windsor Park, Belfast 3–7 1 British Home Championship 19 October 1929 Windsor Park, Belfast 0–3 0 British Home Championship 1 February 1930 Celtic Park, Belfast 7–0 0 British Home Championship 22 April 1931 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 2–3 1 British Home Championship 19 September 1931 Ibrox Park, Glasgow 1–3 0 British Home Championship WinDrawLoss

Later career In July 1937, Rowley became a coach firstly with Lancashire AFA and later at RAF Uxbridge. with the rank made permanent in June. In October 1942 he was promoted to flying officer and in January 1946 to flight lieutenant. In May 1955, he was transferred to reserve with the rank of squadron leader.