Bobby Howitt

Bobby Howitt
Personal information
Full nameRobert Gibb Howitt[1]
Date of birth15 July 1925[1]
Place of birthGlasgow, Scotland[1]
Date of death31 January 2005 (aged 79)
Place of deathCarluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Playing positionInside forward
Youth career
Vale of Clyde
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1948–1955Partick Thistle110(35)
1955–1958Sheffield United89(30)
1958–1963Stoke City133(14)
Total332(79)
National team
1953Scottish League XI[2]1(0)
Teams managed
1965–1972Motherwell
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Robert Gibb "Bobby" Howitt (15 July 1925 – 31 January 2005 ) was a Scottish footballer who played in the Football League for Sheffield United and Stoke City.[1]

Career

Howitt started his career in Scotland at Vale of Clyde and Partick Thistle before moving to England with Sheffield United.[1] He made a decent start to English football scoring 14 goals in 44 appearances in 1955–56 as the "Blades" suffered relegation from the First Division.[1] He hit 13 the following season as Sheffield United finished in 6th position in the second tier. He then only scored four in 22 matches in 1957–58 and at the end of the season he signed for league rivals Stoke City.[1] He made fine start to his Stoke career scoring on his debut against Charlton Athletic in a 2–1 victory.[1] He occupied all forward positions in 1958–59 scoring ten goals.[1] New manager Tony Waddington began to use Howitt in a left half position in 1960–61 which saw his goalscoring suffer as a result. However he began consistent playing in 45 matches in 1961–62 but he often came in for criticism from supporters due to his lack of skill. He played 11 matches in 1962–63 as Stoke won the Second Division and at the end of the season he left to return to Scotland.[1]

He went on to coach at Greenock Morton and was appointed manager of Motherwell in 1965. He spent seven year as manager at Fir Park guiding the "Wells" to the Scottish League Division Two title in 1968–69.

Career statistics

Club Season Division League FA Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sheffield United 1955–56 First Division 4014404414
1956–57 Second Division 2713002713
1957–58 22421245
Total 893061009531
Stoke City 1958–59 Second Division 2710212911
1959–60 21421234
1960–61 3506010420
1961–62 4003020450
1962–63 1000010110
Total 133141324015016
Career Total 222451934024548

Honours

Stoke City

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. "Bobby Howitt". Londonhearts.com (London Hearts Supporters' Club). Retrieved 11 December 2011.

External links