John Flowers (footballer)

John Edward Flowers (born 26 August 1944) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder for Stoke City, Doncaster Rovers, Port Vale, and Eastwood in the 1960s and 1970s.[1] He scored four goals in 206 league games in a nine-year career in the Football League,[2] with the bulk of these appearances coming at Doncaster, where he won the Fourth Division title in 1968–69. He is the younger brother of Ron Flowers,[3] and the nephew of George Flowers.

John Flowers

Personal information
Full name	John Edward Flowers[1]
Date of birth	(1944-08-26) 26 August 1944[1]
Place of birth	Edlington, England[1]
Playing position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1963–1966	Stoke City	8	(0)
1966–1971	Doncaster Rovers	164	(4)
1971–1972	Port Vale	34	(0)
	Eastwood
Total		206	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Flowers was born in Edlington into a sporting family and he followed in their footsteps joining Stoke City in 1963.[1] He spent most of his time at the Victoria Ground in the reserves and after making just nine first team appearances in three seasons he was sold to Third Division Doncaster Rovers for £10,000.[4] In his first season at Belle Vue the newly promoted "Donny" suffered relegation back into the Fourth Division. They finished 10th in 1967–68 before winning the title in 1968–69 under the stewardship of Lawrie McMenemy. Flowers was an ever-present in 1969–70 playing in all of Rovers' 52 fixtures. He played 33 times in 1970–71 as Doncaster were again relegated to the Fourth Division. Flowers scored four goals in 186 first team games in his five years at Belle Vue. He was signed by Port Vale manager Gordon Lee for a "small fee" in August 1971.[5] He played 37 league and cup games in the 1971–72 season but was handed a free transfer away from Vale Park in May 1972 on account of his "mixed form"; apparently this inconsistency was caused by his other job as a pub licensee.[5] He moved on to non-league Eastwood.[5]

Personal life

He is the younger brother of Ron Flowers who played for England.[3] His uncle was George Flowers who also played for Doncaster Rovers.[6] He was married to Maureen Flowers, a former world champion of darts.[3]

Career statistics

Source:[7]

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City	1963–64	First Division	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	1964–65	First Division	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
	1965–66	First Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Total		8	0	0	0	1	0	9	0
Doncaster Rovers	1966–67	Third Division	11	0	0	0	4	0	15	0
	1967–68	Fourth Division	34	1	4	0	1	0	39	1
	1968–69	Fourth Division	42	1	3	0	2	0	47	1
	1969–70	Third Division	46	2	4	0	2	0	52	2
	1970–71	Third Division	31	0	2	0	0	0	33	0
	Total		164	4	13	0	9	0	186	4
Port Vale	1971–72	Third Division	34	0	2	0	1	0	37	0
Career total			206	4	15	0	11	0	232	4

Honours

Doncaster Rovers

• Fourth Division champion: 1968–69

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. John Flower Stats at Neil Brown stat site
3. Sherwin, Phil (15 October 2011). "Sam's late strike sees Vale in to next round". The Sentinel: The Way We Were. p. 16.
4. "John Flowers". Doncaster Rovers.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
5. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 103. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0. ASIN 0952915200.
6. "Flowers family loyal-ties facing tough test". express and star. 7 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
7. John Flowers at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)