| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Rowell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1957-06-06)6 June 1957 (age 67)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Sunderland,[1] England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward,Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974–1984 | Sunderland | 257 | (88) |
| 1984–1985 | Norwich City | 6 | (1) |
| 1985–1986 | Middlesbrough | 27 | (10) |
| 1986–1988 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 12 | (0) |
| 1988 | →Dundee (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1988 | Carlisle United | 7 | (0) |
| 1988–1990 | Burnley | 19 | (1) |
| Total | 329 | (100) | |
| International career | |||
| 1977 | England U21 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Gary Rowell (born 6 June 1957) is an English formerfootballer—most notably withSunderland—and a current local (North East) newspaper columnist.
Born in Sunderland and raised in Seaham, he left school and joinedSunderland as an apprentice in 1972. His career was split (1972–84) between playing as a striker (albeit often coming from deep) and in midfield. He scored 102 goals forThe Rokerites in all competitions, surpassing the previous record post-war goalscorer,Len Shackleton, who had scored 101 goals. Rowell's record stood until it in turn was beaten byKevin Phillips in the early 21st century.
Gary was a talented player who many supporters felt was destined to become 'fully' capped by England. Unfortunately, his career was severely disrupted by a serious knee injury that he sustained during a game againstLeyton Orient (in which he had already scored the winning goal) during March 1979. Following a lengthy recovery, Rowell continued to score goals in the First Division at a healthy strike-rate, but he always looked likely to struggle to maintain full fitness for the whole of any season.
Sunderland managerLen Ashurst forced Rowell out ofRoker Park as part of a huge rebuilding plan in 1984, part of the slide which would ultimately take them to the third tier of English football for the first time in the club's history. Rowell moved toNorwich City, but never recreated his goalscoring exploits because of a knee injury he picked up on his first pre season tour with the Canaries. The injury would ultimately blight the rest of his career, although he did go on to play forMiddlesbrough,Brighton & Hove Albion andCarlisle United before finishing his career withBurnley.
Rowell is remembered by Sunderland supporters for scoring a hat-trick for Sunderland in a 4–1 win away at local rivalsNewcastle United on 24 February 1979. Describing the match later, he said "When we hit the 4th I had a chat withKevin Arnott about whether to try for a fifth or just to take the piss. We decided to take the piss."[citation needed]
He now works as a radio summariser onReal Radio, commentating on all Sunderland games. He previously spent seven years covering Sunderland's games onMetro Radio andMagic 1152.
In 2005, he was voted Sunderland's all-time cult hero on the television programmeFootball Focus, whilst in 2006, Sunderland fanzineA Love Supreme voted him their Best Player of the 1980s. Such accolades reflect his almost 'iconic' status on Wearside, which has led him to recently be inducted in to theSunderland A.F.C hall of fame.