Joe Sowerbutts (footballer)

Last updated

Joe Sowerbutts
Personal information
Full name Joseph Edward Sowerbutts
Date of birth(1863-11-25)25 November 1863
Place of birth Blackburn, England
Date of death 26 February 1935(1935-02-26) (aged 71)
Place of death Blackburn, England
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1883–87 Blackburn Rovers
1887–88 Church
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Joseph Edward Sowerbutts (25 November 1863 - 26 February 1935) was an English footballer who won three FA Cup winners' medals when playing for Blackburn Rovers in the 1880s.

Contents

Playing career

Sowerbutts was born in Blackburn and brought up in the Shear Brow district. He played with Rovers as a reserve player before his promotion to the first team in 1883, making his debut in the 1883–84 FA Cup first round against Southport as a replacement at centre-forward for Jimmy Brown; Sowerbutts scored one of the goals in a 7–0 romp. [1] Brown returned for the second round against South Shore but Sowerbutts kept his place at the expense of Tot Strachan, and rewarded the Rovers' selectors by scoring twice, in another seven-goal win. [2]

Strachan returned to the side for the quarter- and semi-final, but Sowerbutts was back in his place [3] for the cup final, played at the Kennington Oval on 29 March, against Queen's Park. Sowerbutts opened the scoring in a 2–1 win, touching the ball home after Brown took the ball past goalkeeper George Gillespie and sent it rolling along the goal-line. [4] [5]

It was Rovers' first FA Cup win, and the club would go on to win the next two competitions, Sowerbutts playing in both finals. Indeed, he scored the second and decisive goal in the 1886 final against West Bromwich Albion, beating both goalkeeper Roberts and defender Green who had gone back to defend the goal-line, with a smart shot - he put the ball through the goal a second time but it was disallowed for offside, [6] although there was a suspicion he had been played onside by the final touch before reaching him being made by a defender. [7]

In this last season, the Football Association had permitted players to turn professional, and he did not appear in the FA Cup again; he was chosen for the first-round tie with Halliwell in 1886–87, but, unable to field its first-choice XI because of residency rules, Halliwell scratched and the game was played as a friendly. [8]

Although he played further matches during the 1886–87 season for Rovers, [9] he appears to have stepped back from the front rank of football as a result of the advent of professionalism, turning out for the lower-key Church in 1887–88. [10] [11] He made a one-off comeback with Rovers in a benefit match at South Shore in 1890, in which the Rovers needed to call up several replacements for unavailable first-team players. [12]

Later life

Sowerbutts became an insurance clerk at the Blackburn Philanthropic Mutual Assurance Society, and was also an election agent for the Conservative Party in Blackburn; he remained a Rovers supporter for his whole life. [13] He married Annette Leaver on 30 January 1896 at St James in Blackburn. [14]

By 1911 he was spelling his surname as Sourbutts and he died on 26 February 1935, at the Blackburn and East Lancashire Royal Infirmary, after falling ill at work. His estate of £269 was left to his widow. [15]

Honours

References and notes

  1. ↑ "Blackburn Rovers v Southport". Athletic News: 3. 24 October 1883.
  2. ↑ Jackman, Mike (2009). Blackburn Rovers: The Complete Record. England: Breedon Books. ISBN   978-1859837092.
  3. ↑ "report". Sportsman: 4. 31 March 1884.
  4. ↑ "report". Blackburn Standard: 3. 5 April 1884.
  5. ↑ "FA Cup Final 1884 – Match report". fa-cupfinals.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  6. ↑ "West Bromwich Albion v Blackburn Rovers". Birmingham Post: 7. 12 April 1886.
  7. ↑ "Victory of the Blackburn Rovers". Sporting Life: 4. 12 April 1886.
  8. ↑ "report". Athletic News: 2. 2 November 1886.
  9. ↑ "Blackburn Rovers v Accrington". Lancashire Evening Post: 3. 26 March 1887.
  10. ↑ "Darwen v Church". Blackburn Standard: 7. 15 October 1887.
  11. ↑ "The resurrection of Everton". Cricket & Football Field: 2. 3 March 1888.
  12. ↑ "South Shore v Blackburn Rovers". Fleetwood Chronicle: 3. 24 October 1890.
  13. ↑ "Famous Rovers player of the "Eighties"". Lancashire Evening Post: 8. 27 February 1935.
  14. ↑ Parish Registers, Marriage, Blackburn St James, 1875–1912. Blackburn: Lancashire Church of England Marriages and Banns. 30 January 1896. p. 9.
  15. ↑ England & Wales National Probate Calendar Qualtrouch-Szlumper. HMSO. 1935. p. 467.

Related Research Articles

The 1884 FA Cup final was a football match between Blackburn Rovers and Queen's Park contested on 29 March 1884 at the Kennington Oval. It was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, it was the 13th Cup final. It was the first time that a Scottish team reached the final of the tournament, with Queen's Park knocking out the previous holders of the trophy en route.

The 1886 FA Cup final was a football match between Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, 3 April 1886 at Kennington Oval in south London. The result was a goalless draw. Albion wanted to play extra time but Blackburn declined and so a replay was necessary. This took place a week later at the Racecourse Ground in Derby, the first venue outside London to stage an FA Cup final match. Blackburn won 2–0 to win the tournament for the third successive time. Following Wanderers (1876–1878), Blackburn were the second team to win three successive finals and, as of 2023, remain the last to do so. Their goals were scored by Jimmy Brown and Joe Sowerbutts. Both matches were refereed by Major Francis Marindin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Southworth</span> English footballer

John Southworth, also known as Jack and Skimmy Southworth, was an English footballer who played in the early days of professional football for Blackburn Rovers and Everton as well as being capped three times for England.He was the top scorer in the Football League in 1890–1891 and 1893–1894.

Charles Perry was an English football centre-half who played for West Bromwich Albion and England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lever F.C.</span> Football club

Great Lever Football Club were an English football club founded in 1877, from, Great Lever, near Farnworth in Lancashire, within the town of Bolton, England. The club was briefly one of the best sides in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Roberts (footballer, born 1859)</span> English footballer

Robert John Roberts was an English football goalkeeper. He spent the majority of his career at West Bromwich Albion, with whom he won an FA Cup winner's medal, and also played for Sunderland Albion and Aston Villa. He won three caps for England and is the first West Bromwich Albion player to have appeared at international level. He was nicknamed Long Bob and The Prince of Goalkeepers.

Ezra Horton was an English footballer who played at right-half; he had the nickname "Ironsides". He played for West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup final in 1886, 1887 and 1888. His younger brother Jack was also a footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Forrest (footballer)</span> English footballer

James Henry Forrest was an English footballer whose career spanned the transition from amateurism to professionalism in English football in the 1880s and 1890s. He played most of his club career for Blackburn Rovers, whose early embracing of professionalism enabled them to become one of the major teams in English football, and with whom he appeared on the winning side in five FA Cup finals. He was the first professional player to appear for England for whom he made eleven appearances, as a half-back.

George "Spry" Woodhall was an English footballer, who played most of his career with West Bromwich Albion, helping them to reach three consecutive FA Cup finals, including winning the cup in 1888.

Robert Haresnape was an English professional association footballer who played as a winger. He died in his home town of Blackburn, Lancashire in 1951.

Nathaniel Walton was an English international footballer, who played as an inside forward.

Halliwell F.C. was an English association football club based in Halliwell, in north-west Bolton.

Church Football Club was an English association football club based in Church, Lancashire, which once reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. The club originally played at the Church cricket ground, moving to Spring Hill in the early 1880s. The club is notable for being the first opponents of Blackburn Rovers in December 1875.

Low Moor F.C. was an English association football club, from Clitheroe, Lancashire. The club was sometimes called Clitheroe Low Moor or Low Moor (Clitheroe), but Low Moor was the club's self-reported name.

Higher Walton Football Club was an English football club from Higher Walton in Lancashire, founded in 1882.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Dewhurst</span>

Thomas "Tom" Dewhurst was an association footballer who won the FA Cup as a player for Blackburn Olympic in 1883.

Thomas "Tot" Strachan was a footballer who won the FA Cup with Blackburn Rovers in 1886. His surname was also rendered as Strahan.

Richard John Turner was a Scottish footballer who won the FA Cup with Blackburn Rovers in 1885 and 1886.

Joseph "Joe" Heyes was a footballer who won the FA Cup with Blackburn Rovers in 1886.

Preston North End 26–0 Hyde is the result of an FA Cup first round tie between Preston North End and Hyde of Manchester, which took place on 15 October 1887. It holds the largest margin of victory in an English football match at FA Cup or League level.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.