West Bromwich Albion
Which team did Arthur Rowley play for in Jun 1946?
Arthur Rowley George Arthur Rowley Jr . ( 21 April 1926 – 19 December 2002 ) , nicknamed The Gunner because of his explosive left-foot shot , was an English football player and cricketer . He holds the record for the most goals in the history of English league football , scoring 434 from 619 league games . He was the younger brother of Manchester United footballer Jack Rowley . He was shortlisted for inclusion into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2008 . He holds the club record for the most goals in a single season at both Leicester City and Shrewsbury Town , scoring 44 goals in 42 league matches at Leicester in 1956–57 and 38 goals in 43 games for Shrewsbury in 1958–59 . He is also Shrewsburys record league goalscorer with 152 league goals . He is Leicesters second all-time top goalscorer , netting 265 times for the Foxes , 8 goals short of Arthur Chandlers record . Early life . George Arthur Rowley was the third son of Mark Rowley , a well known goalkeeper playing semi-professionally in the Birmingham League . Born in Wolverhampton where he was educated at Dudley Road School and later at St Peters Collegiate School , he started his career originally as a centre-half before moving up front where his prowess in the forward line won him an early selection into the schools first team . He went on to win local honours with Wolverhampton and County honours with both Birmingham and Staffordshire . He was selected for England schoolboys but the outbreak of the war robbed him of the opportunity . Playing career . Manchester United . On leaving school in 1940 , Rowley went to work for a sheet metal firm doing war work before joining his older brother Jack in Manchester . Thus Rowley began his career at Manchester United , signing as an Amateur just four days after his 15th birthday . The following day , 26 April 1941 , at 15 years and 5 days old , he became the youngest ever player to feature in the Manchester United first team when he lined up alongside Jack in a war-time league match against Liverpool at Anfield . Rowley went on to play seven times for the United first team before being released in May 1944 . West Bromwich Albion . Rowley also played regularly as an amateur at Wolverhampton Wanderers as guest during the war , before turning professional with West Bromwich Albion later in the summer of 1944 . However , he struggled at The Hawthorns both to score goals and gain a regular place in the first team . Fulham . Albion sold Rowley early in the 1948–49 season to Fulham , where he immediately found his goal-scoring touch , scoring 19 goals in 22 appearance as he helped the side to the Second Division title . Rowley failed to recapture his form in the First Division as he scored only 7 goals . Leicester City . At the end of his first season in the top flight he was sold to Leicester City . There was much criticism from Leicester fans originally towards manager Norman Bullock on signing the relatively unproven Rowley as a replacement for the well-liked Jack Lee . However , after a slow start as a centre forward , Bullock moved Rowley into the number 10 inside left role which is where he would make his name at the Foxes , on 23 September , in which Rowley scored Leicesters consolation goal in a 2–1 defeat to Coventry City . By the end of his debut season , his 28 goals had appeased the crowd , though the club still finished in a disappointing 14th position . It was in his second season that Rowley began to make a name for himself as he broke Arthur Chandlers club record for the most goals in a season , netting 38 times . He then broke his own record again the following season , scoring 41 times in 42 games , 39 of these goals coming in the league , earning him the Second Division golden boot award . He scored a further 36 goals in the 1953–54 season helping fire Leicester to the Second Division title . However , Leicester lasted just one season in the First Division as they were relegated back to the second tier at the first attempt . A couple of seasons later , in 1956–57 , Rowley broke the club record for the most goals in a season for the third time , scoring 44 times in 42 games ( this record still stands today ) , again earning him the Second Division top goalscorer award and again leading Leicester to the Second Division title . Rowley scored a further 20 times in 25 games in 1957–58 to help Leicester this time avoid relegation back to the second tier . However Dave Halliday decided to sell Rowley in the summer of 1958 when he was just 8 goals short of Arthur Chandlers club record for the all-time top goalscorer . This led to a loss of faith by the fans and ultimately his sacking 2 months into the 1958–59 season . In his 8 seasons at Filbert Street overall , Rowley scored 265 goals in 321 games , including 16 hat-tricks . Shrewsbury Town . In the summer of 1958 Rowley left Leicester , who were playing in the First Division , to become the player-manager of Shrewsbury Town of the newly created Fourth Division . In his first season at the Gay Meadow Rowley led Shrewsbury to promotion with a haul of 38 goals in 43 games , winning the Fourth Division golden boot . He followed that up in the Third Division as he continued scoring prolifically , netting 32 , 28 , 23 and 24 times over the next four seasons , before falling away in his last couple of seasons with the club as he began to put on weight and became less mobile , but his influence on the pitch was still to be seen , even employing himself as a makeshift defender on occasion , before finally retiring in 1965 . Management career . Sheffield United . After retiring as a player Rowley managed Shrewsbury for another four years before becoming manager of Sheffield United on 11 July 1968 . United had just been relegated to Division Two but despite good signings who would later gain the team promotion , results were disappointing and he was sacked on 6 August 1969 . He managed Southend United from 1970 to 1976 and was also assistant manager of Telford United and manager of non-league Knighton Town and Oswestry Town before leaving football . Cricketing career . Rowley represented Shropshire in three Minor Counties Championship matches between 1961 and 1962 as a right-handed batsman and a leg break bowler . Later life . Rowley made his home in the suburb of Copthorne , Shrewsbury . He continued to visit the Gay Meadow as a spectator . In 2000 , he was voted by Shrewsbury Town their player of the century . He died in December 2002 aged 76 and was buried on Saturday 26 December ( Boxing Day ) in Shrewsbury General Cemetery in Longden Road . His headstone , in Plot 18 , describes him as a record breaking football hero . Honours . Fulham - Second Division champions : 1948–49 Leicester City - Second Division champions : 1953–54 , 1956–57 Individual - Second Division top goalscorer : ( with Leicester City ) 1952–53 , 1956–57 - Fourth Division top goalscorer : ( with Shrewsbury Town ) 1958–59 External links . - CricketArchive - Obituary in The Guardian