Harry Dowd

Henry William Dowd (4 July 1938 – 7 April 2015) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Manchester City, Stoke City and Oldham Athletic.

Harry Dowd

Personal information
Full name	Henry William Dowd
Date of birth	(1938-07-04)4 July 1938
Place of birth	Salford, England
Date of death	7 April 2015(2015-04-07) (aged 76)
Playing position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1961–1970	Manchester City	181	(1)
1969–1970	→ Stoke City (loan)	3	(0)
1970–1974	Oldham Athletic	121	(0)
–	Northwich Victoria
Total		305	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

At the start of his career Dowd combined amateur football playing for ICI Blackley with a job as a plumber. On 10 January 1958 he signed for Manchester City as an amateur, and turned professional two years later. In December 1961 he made his debut in a 4–1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, deputising for the injured Bert Trautmann. In the 1961–62 season he established himself as first choice goalkeeper, making 34 appearances. In February 1964, Dowd broke his finger[1] in a game against Bury. Unable to continue playing in goal, he moved to centre-forward, where he scored the equalising goal.

During Manchester City's championship winning 1967–68 season, Dowd lost his first team place through injury to Ken Mulhearn, and made only seven first team appearances therefore missing out on a League Championship Medal. However, he regained his place the following season, and played on the winning side in the 1969 FA Cup final, where Manchester City beat Leicester City 1–0.

In the 1969–70 season, Dowd lost his first team place again, this time to Joe Corrigan and so the spent two months on loan at Stoke City being used as cover for Gordon Banks, making three appearances for the "Potters". His final Manchester City appearance was against Sheffield Wednesday in the final match of 1969–70, and in December 1970 he was transferred to Oldham Athletic, where he played 111 times. Dowd died on 7 April 2015 at the age of 76.[2]

Career statistics

Source:[3]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester City	1961–62	First Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	1962–63	First Division	27	0	3	0	4	0	34	0
	1963–64	Second Division	32	1	1	0	6	0	39	1
	1964–65	Second Division	21	0	2	0	1	0	24	0
	1965–66	Second Division	38	0	8	0	1	0	47	0
	1966–67	First Division	25	0	1	0	2	0	28	0
	1967–68	First Division	7	0	0	0	2	0	9	0
	1968–69	First Division	27	0	7	0	0	0	34	0
	1969–70	First Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		181	1	22	0	16	0	219	1
Stoke City (loan)	1969–70	First Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Oldham Athletic	1970–71	Fourth Division	24	0	0	0	0	0	24	0
	1971–72	Third Division	40	0	1	0	2	0	43	0
	1972–73	Third Division	37	0	0	0	1	0	38	0
	1973–74	Third Division	20	0	4	0	2	0	26	0
	Total		121	0	5	0	5	0	131	0
Career Total			305	1	27	0	21	0	353	1

Honours

Manchester City

• FA Cup winner: 1969

References

Specific

1. Most sources state the injury as a broken finger, but some (such as Clayton) say it was a shoulder injury
2. "Man City team-mates pay tribute to legend Harry Dowd after he passes away". MEN. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
3. Harry Dowd at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

General

• James, Gary (2006). Manchester City - The Complete Record. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1-85983-512-0.
• Clayton, David (2002). Everything under the blue moon: the complete book of Manchester City FC - and more!. Edinburgh: Mainstream publishing. ISBN 1-84018-687-9.