Jack and Arthur's devotion to the game first derived from the filial bond with father Mark who played in goal for Walsall. Growing up in Wolverhampton, Jack (born in 1920) played youth football locally at Dudley Old Boys before signing professional forms with Wolverhampton Wanderers as a fifteen year old in November 1935. As a novice, Jack performed for Cradley Heath on loan between September and November 1936 before moving to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, another short-term move in which he reportedly scored 10 goals in 11 games from February to April 1937. It was in this spell that Jack somewhat serendipitously got his big break.
The owner of Manchester United, James W. Gibson was on vacation in the salubrious south coast when he spotted the five-foot-nine forward, and by October 1937 had paid the substantial sum of £3,000 to take Jack to Old Trafford. In his first campaign at United Rowley's 9 goals led the Red Devils to promotion from the Second Division, seven years after their relegation in 1931. In the following season Jack's 10 goals in 39 appearances guided Walter Crickmer's team to the middle reaches of the First Division. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Jack was 18 years-old, and the ensuing conflict denied him six years of a fledgling career. Meanwhile, a certain Arthur Rowley was denied the opportunity of featuring for England Schoolboys.
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| Jack Rowley. Copyright Manchester United Football Club |
As a teenager, the highly talented Arthur Rowley (born in 1926) relocated to Manchester; finding employment with his brother at a nearby metal sheet factory. By 1941 he had signed amateur forms with Manchester United, and at just 15 years and 5 days old partnered brother Jack in an offensive quintet against Liverpool at Anfield in a war-time league encounter. Arthur remains the youngest debutant in United's history.
Although professional clubs preserved signed contracts during the war they did not expect players to adhere to their terms, giving them agency to make guest appearances for other clubs. Typically, footballers would play for the teams closest to their garrisons. Arthur, too young to serve, gained invaluable experience guesting for Wolves. Conversely, Jack combined a role as an active soldier in the South Staffordshire regiment with guest appearances for Aldershot, and Belfast Distillery. Notably, Jack also won the League War Cup with Wolves in 1942 and had regular outings with Tottenham Hotspur in 1943-44, firing them to the Football League South title .
While the senior Rowley brother established himself as a war hero with contributions to the Normandy landings on D-Day, Arthur was shown the door at Old Trafford and swiftly signed for West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 1944. To his chagrin, first-team opportunities were limited at The Hawthorns.
Surprisingly Jack left the forces with his sporting reputation enhanced. After Wilhelm Keitel signed German surrender terms in May 1945 a British armed forces squad containing Rowley departed for a "celebratory tour" of Italy and Greece. According to Andi Thomas, Jack missed most of the football through "dysentery" and "sandfly fever." Significantly however, he engaged for the first time with player-manager Matt Busby, foreboding a fruitful working relationship with the Scotsman when he took the reins at Manchester United in October.
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| Arthur Rowley. Pinterest |
Entering his twenties, Arthur had struggled to emulate his brother's rapid ascent to the apex of the football pyramid. Registering 4 goals in 24 appearances played intermittently over four seasons with the Baggies. In 1948 he was allowed to depart for Second Division Fulham in an exchange deal whereby winger Ernie Shepherd headed in the opposite direction. This move to West London was the catalyst for a change in fortune in front of goal; a tally of 19 goals was conducive to a league winners medal in his opening season.
In the north of the capital Jack played a career-defining game. Busby moved him from inside left to centre-forward in 1946, and the tactical alteration was instrumental to United reaching the FA Cup Final in 1948. In front of a 99,842 crowd at Wembley Stadium Jack scored a brace as United came back from 2-1 down to defeat Blackpool 4-2; the zenith of his career.
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| Jack Rowley rises to score a second in the 1948 FA Cup Final. Copyright British Pathé |
Jack Rowley managed one more major honour during his time in Manchester, scoring a hat-trick in a final day decider against Arsenal which propelled United to a 6-1 victory and crowned them 1951-52 First Division Champions. In twelve seasons at Old Trafford Rowley netted 211 times in 424 appearances. This bounty of goals, his powerful left foot, and military past earned him the endearing nickname 'Gunner.'
Despite having a penchant for goal-scoring, life in the First Division proved challenging for Arthur once more, managing only 8 goals in one top tier term at Fulham. Struggling to contend with the notion that his wife had taken a disliking to London life and he had failed to excel in the top flight again, Rowley sought pastures new at Leicester City by the beginning of the 1950-51 campaign.
Once Filbert Street manager Norman Bullock converted Arthur from centre forward to inside left he scored 28, 38, and 39 in consecutive seasons; the third of which culminated in a league golden boot award. A 36 goal haul in 1953-54 catapulted The Foxes to the Second Division title. Arthur's first season of success in Division One (22 goals in 41 games) had been eagerly awaited, it was blemished however by Leicester's demotion back whence they came.
In a further three seasons in the East Midlands Arthur inspired the Foxes' return to the First Division, amassing 93 goals in the 103 games preceding the summer of 1958. Manager Dave Halliday's decision to sell Rowley 8 goals short of the club record is an illustration of the vagaries of the game. To those who never stepped onto the field of play and could not fully understand such a clinically objective approach, Halliday's dismissal in November must have felt like poetic justice. Arthur had attained cult hero status though. With a similar style, thunderous left foot, and aptitude in front of goal which belonged to brother Jack, The Filbert Street faithful deferred to Arthur as 'Gunner'.
In the 1950s the transition from player to manager was a much more integrated one , with clubs often employing men who could undertake the two roles simultaneously. Both Rowley Brothers were beneficiaries of this culture. Jack turned down Busby's offer to remain at United as the inactive yet avuncular senior player in favour of becoming player-manager at third division Plymouth Argyle in February 1955. Similarly, Arthur was appointed Shrewsbury Town player-manager after departing Filbert Street.
There is undeniable symmetry between the siblings, their left feet, shared nickname, predatory instinct, and mutual desire to lead. However, only Jack Rowley's legacy is embellished by a record of 6 caps and 6 goals for the England national team. On his international debut in December 1948, Rowley scored from 35 yards in a 6-0 victory against Switzerland at Highbury. A 3-1 defeat in Sweden was followed by a 3-1 victory over France in May 1949. It was in his fourth game that Jack reached the pinnacle of his England career, notching 4 goals in a 9-2 British Championship win over Ireland. Following one more goal in a 2-0 defeat of Italy, Jack made his last appearance in 1952, taking part in a 2-1 success against Scotland at Hampden Park.
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| Jack Rowley scores his second and England's fifth in the 9-2 thrashing of Ireland. Copyright British Pathé |
Jack scored on 14 occasions in 56 appearances for the Pilgrims before hanging up his boots in May 1957. He retained his seat in the dugout until March 1960 having orchestrated Argyle's romp to the Division Three title in the preceding season. In an illustrious career 'Gunner' amassed 238 goals in 504 games.
Arthur Rowley took little time to settle in Salopia, winning the fourth division golden boot with a tally of 38 goals in 43 games in his first season; firing the Shropshire club to promotion in the process. Rowley managed 32, 28, 23, and 24 goals during four profitable campaigns in the third tier. As Rowley grew cumbersome he seldom played in the two seasons leading up to his retirement in 1965. When he did take to the field he remained in situ at the centre of the Shrewsbury defence. Arthur remained manager at Gay Meadow until 1968. Rowley scored a total 434 league goals in 619 games; a football league record to this day.
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| Shrewsbury Town fans display banner in memory of Arthur Rowley in 2012. Source: Youtube |
Jack continued to thrive on the touchline. A three year spell at Oldham culminated in promotion from the fourth division in 1963. Rowley relocated to Amsterdam but was replaced as Ajax coach by compatriot Vic Buckingham in light of one mediocre season. Short stints as Wrexham and Bradford Park Avenue followed, leading ultimately to an unsuccessful return to Boundary Park in October 1968. His tenure lasted just three months. It transpired that this role would be Jack Rowley's last in the beautiful game.
In July 1968 Arthur was offered the promising opportunity to manage Sheffield United. Having failed to lead the newly-relegated Blades back to the top flight, he was shown the door at Bramall Lane in August 1969. From 1970 Rowley presided over Southend United; an era in which the Roots Hall club toured Russia but domestically could only consolidate their place in Division Three. Unfortunately Rowley was sacked after his Shrimpers plummeted back to the fourth tier in 1976. Myriad non-league coaching positions followed and 'Gunner' retired in the following decade.
A fraternal bond punctuated the lives and careers of Jack and Arthur Rowley. They even reached 200 league goals on the same afternoon 22nd October 1955. Arthur scored for Leicester against Fulham and Jack for Plymouth versus Barnsley. Jack ran a newsagent in Greater Manchester until his passing in June 1998, and Arthur settled in Shrewsbury, frequently visiting Gay Meadow before his passing in December 2002. He has since been named Shrewsbury Town's Player of the Century. Two brothers living in separate communities among those they entertained, epitomising football's fraternizing qualities. The memory of two Gunners lives on.
References:
Andi Thomas - https://thebusbybabe.sbnation.com/2014/2/28/5456162/manchester-united-jack-rowley-forgotten-goalscorer
https://readtheleague.com/the-big-feature/the-rowley-brothers-two-gunners
