Archie Bown
Encyclopedia
Football career
Born in HighworthHighworth
Highworth is a market town in the unitary authority of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, located about north-east of Swindon town centre. At the 2001 census it had a population of 7,996...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, Bown began his football career playing for the local Swindon Casuals team. It was here that Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
spotted him and offered him a trial, playing one first team match in February 1904. Having not proved himself adequately he returned to his old team and his job as a turner and fitter in the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
's Workshop
Swindon Works
Swindon railway works were built by the Great Western Railway in 1841 in Swindon in the English county of Wiltshire.-History:In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. Its Chief Engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.From 1836, Brunel had been buying...
.
Bown returned to Swindon Town in 1907, signing a professional contract. He went on to score 9 goals in 16 appearances that season and regularly appeared on the scoresheet from then on. 1911/12 was his most prolific season for the club, when he scored 23 goals in Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
matches. He was part of the team that from 1909–12 won the Dubonnet Cup
Dubonnet Cup
The Dubonnet Cup was an invitational English football exhibition cup game held between 1910 and 1912 held in Paris.The game was an annual event the aim of which was to generate interest in the French amateur football leagues and helped lead to the establishment of the French Football Federation.The...
and the Southern Charity Cup, whilst also becoming Runner's up of the Charity Shield and twice FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
semi-finalists. He scored a goal in the 1912 FA Cup run that ultimately knocked Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
out of the competition, causing a minor upset at the time.
Bown helped Swindon to their second Southern League championship in 1914, making 36 appearances and scoring 18 times and in April 1915 he scored all six of Swindon's goals in a 6–0 win against Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
. His career with the team was ended by the First World War although he remains Swindon's fifth-highest goalscorer.
He guested for Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
during the war and afterwards appeared for Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
and Weymouth
Weymouth F.C.
Weymouth F.C. are an English football club based in the town of Weymouth, who currently play in the Southern League Premier Division.-History:Weymouth Football Club were founded in 1890 and played their first game on 24 September of that year...
. He died in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
on 19 August 1958.