Full name John Douglas Rowland Years Team Name John Rowland Position Forward | Playing position 1960–1962 Nottingham Forest Role Footballer | |
Date of birth (1941-04-07) 7 April 1941 (age 74) Place of birth Riddings, Alfreton, England | ||
John Douglas Rowland (born 7 April 1941) is an English former footballer who was known for his powerful 'hammer shot'. A forward, he scored 62 goals in 250 league games in a nine-year career in the Football League.
He began his career at Nottingham Forest in 1960, before being sold on to Port Vale for £6,000 in August 1962. In September 1966, he was sold on to Mansfield Town for £6,500. Two years later he joined Tranmere Rovers, before dropping into non-league football with South Shields in 1969; he finished his career at Derry City.
Playing career
Rowland played for Ironville Amateurs before joining First Division side Nottingham Forest. He played 26 league games under Andy Beattie in 1960–61 and 1961–62, scoring three goals.
He was signed by Port Vale manager Norman Low for £6,000 in August 1962. Low was quickly replaced by Freddie Steele, and Rowland took a while to blend into the team, though he scored seven goals in 41 games in 1962–63. He scored just four goals in 28 games in the 1963–64 campaign. He found his form by September 1964, and hit five goals in 43 games in 1964–65 under new manager Jackie Mudie, though this was not enough to prevent the "Valiants" slipping into the Fourth Division. He scored 23 goals in 46 games in the 1965–66 season to become the club's top scorer; he managed to score in a club record eight straight games from 1 September to 4 October. In September 1966, he was sold to Tommy Cummings' Mansfield Town for £6,500. He had made 166 appearances (149 in the league) and scored 43 goals (40 in the league) for the Vale. He was happy to stay at Vale Park, but Vale director Tommy Talbot advised him to take the move as the club were desperately short of funds.
The "Stags" finished ninth in the Third Division in 1966–67, though they only avoided relegation in 1967–68 under Tommy Eggleston after Peterborough United were hit with a 19-point deduction. In two seasons at Field Mill, Archer made 53 appearances in all competitions, scoring 16 goals. He played for Tranmere Rovers in 1968–69, playing 26 league games and scoring three goals under Dave Russell's stewardship. He then dropped into non-league football with Northern Premier League side South Shields; he later turned out for Derry City.