| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Norman Harvey Low[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1914-03-23)23 March 1914 | ||
| Place of birth | Aberdeen, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 21 May 1994(1994-05-21) (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Position | Centre-half | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rosehill Villa | |||
| 1931–1933 | Newcastle United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1933–1936 | Liverpool | 13 | (0) |
| 1936–1946 | Newport County | 112 | (0) |
| 1946–1950 | Norwich City | 150 | (0) |
| Total | 275 | (0) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1950–1955 | Norwich City | ||
| 1956–1957 | Workington | ||
| 1957–1962 | Port Vale | ||
| 1967–1968 | Witton Albion | ||
| 1968 | Cleveland Stokers | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Norman Harvey Low (23 March 1914 – 21 May 1994) was a Scottishfootball player andmanager. He was the son ofScottish international footballer,Wilf Low.
Acentre-half, he played forNewcastle United between 1931 and 1933, before three years withLiverpool. From 1936 up until the end ofWorld War II, he turned out forNewport County, helping the club to theThird Division South title in 1938–39. After the war, he spent 1946 to 1950 withNorwich City.
In 1950, he was appointed Norwich City's manager and led the club to a second-place finish in the Third Division South in 1950–51. Despite this,promotion eluded him before he departed in April 1955. He spent January 1956 to February 1957 asWorkington's manager before he was installed in the hot seat atPort Vale. He led the club to theFourth Division title in1958–59, before resigning in October 1962. Spending time as ascout atStoke City andLiverpool, he was madeWitton Albion manager in 1967, before he took to the United States for a brief spell in charge of theCleveland Stokers in 1968.
Low was a youth player atNewcastle United but began his professional career withLiverpool.[2] The dominant centre-half struggled to get into the first-team, though did play eleven consecutive games in place ofTom Bradshaw for theFirst Division club during the first half of the1934–35 season.[2]
LeavingAnfield in 1936, he then spent ten years withNewport County, a club struggling in the bottom half of theThird Division South table. The "Exiles" finished 19th, two points above the re-election zone in1936–37, and then ended the1937–38 campaign in 16th place. They then improved massively, finishing top of the division in1938–39 under the stewardship ofBilly McCandless, three points ahead ofCrystal Palace. He played a total of 112 league games for the club.
DuringWorld War II he also guested forBristol City,Everton, Liverpool,Swindon Town andLovell's Athletic.[3] In 1946 he moved ontoDuggie Lochhead'sNorwich City, a team struggling near the foot of the Third Division South table. They had to apply for re-election in1946–47, finishing in the penultimate spot, level on points with bottom clubMansfield Town. They finished 21st again in1947–48, ahead of bottom clubBrighton & Hove Albion due to a superior goal average. The "Canaries" rallied to a tenth-place finish in1948–49, before recording an eleventh-place finish in1949–50. Low played 150 league games in four years atCarrow Road.
Low was appointedmanager ofNorwich City in 1950 and led the club to a second-place finish in the Third Division South in1950–51. However, only championsNottingham Forest werepromoted. His team finished third in1951–52, five points behind championsPlymouth Argyle. They dropped a place again to fourth in1952–53, though they were only four points behind championsBristol Rovers. However, they dropped to seventh in1953–54, 13 points shy ofIpswich Town. The1954–55 season was also disappointing, and Low left the club in April 1955.[4]
Low worked asWorkington manager from January 1956 to February 1957. The "Reds" finished tenth in theThird Division North in1955–56, and ended the1956–57 season in fourth place under his replacementTommy Jones.
Low was made manager ofPort Vale in February 1957.[5] ReplacingFreddie Steele, who developedthe Steel/Iron curtain, Low adopted an attacking policy, instructing his players 'to go out and entertain the public' and 'he never discussed the opposition'.[3] However, Vale were already heading out of theSecond Division, and went on to finish in last place in1956–57.[5] Low announced a new youth policy atVale Park, and promptly releasedCyril Done (Winsford United);Ray King (sold toBoston United for£2,500);Reg Potts andStan Turner (Worcester City);Tommy Cheadle,Stan Smith, andDerek Mountford (Crewe Alexandra);Len Stephenson andBilly Spurdle (Oldham Athletic); andHarry Anders (Accrington Stanley).[5]
Preparing for the Third Division South campaign in1957–58, he said his team would "fight like hell to get back into the Second Division".[5] He signed impressive forwardJack Wilkinson (Sheffield United);Welsh international goalkeeperKeith Jones (signed fromAston Villa for £3,500); defenderBert Carberry (Gillingham); andAlan Martin – who returned to the club as a part-time professional.[5] His team were third in the league by November, and he added to his squad with the signatures of Bert Carberry and Jack Wilkinson.[5] However, they then lost their form, and Low attempted to shake things up by sellingKen Griffiths toMansfield Town and bringing inNoel Kinsey fromBirmingham City for £5,000.[5] Vale eventually finished 15th, the bottom half of the table, and therefore were invited to form the newly createdFourth Division.[5]
Low signed 'speedy and direct' wingerBrian Jackson fromLiverpool for £2,000, experienced left-backRoy Pritchard fromNotts County, andPeter Hall from Stoke City.[5] They picked up just two points from their first five home games before turning Vale Park into a fortress.[5] In mid-season he handed keeperKen Hancock and strikerGraham Barnett their débuts.[5] Vale went twelve games unbeaten to rise to the top of the table and thrashedGateshead 8–0 on Boxing Day.[5] He put veteranRoy Sproson back into the defensive line, whilst up frontStan Steele 'did the work of two men',Harry Poole brought 'flexibility and fluidity', and Graham Barnett scored from half-chances.[5] They finished as Fourth Division champions in1958–59 with 64 points, four points clear of second, and seven clear of fifth spot, scoring aclub record 110 goals.
In preparation for the1959–60Third Division campaign, Low signedMorgan Hunt fromNorwich City for a four-figure fee, and outside-leftCliff Portwood fromPreston North End for £750.[5] He also tried to signStanley Matthews fromBlackpool, but a deal could not be reached for the 44-year-old.[5] Low then tradedJohn Cunliffe and £2,000 to Stoke City in exchange for wingerHarry Oscroft and centre-halfPeter Ford.[5] In March, an out-of-form Graham Barnett was sold toTranmere Rovers for £5,000, leaving Vale without 'a top-class inside-forward'.[5] In theFA Cup, Vale reached the fifth round, and 49,768 crammed into Vale Park to witness a 2–1 defeat toAston Villa.[5] They ended the league campaign in 14th place, ten points above therelegation zone.[5]
Low prepared for the1960–61 season by recruiting former Wales international inside-rightNoel Kinsey fromBirmingham City as a player-coach, and 21-year-old outside-leftDennis Fidler from theManchester CityReserves.[5] His £10,000 offer for Aston Villa'sGerry Hitchens was rejected, whilst interest in re-signingRonnie Allen also went nowhere.[5] Low instead got 'bustling'Ted Calland on afree transfer fromExeter City, and soldFred Donaldson to Exeter for £2,000.[5] In November he signedBert Llewellyn from Crewe Alexandra for £7,000.[5] His team put in some memorable performances, including a 5–0 win overGrimsby Town atBlundell Park, in what Roy Sproson later described as his 'greatest memory' and 'one of their finest hours'; the performance was so impressive they received 'a standing ovation' from the home crowd, as the "Valiants" finished the game 'rolling the ball about like a game ofchess'.[5] Vale were in the promotion hunt until late in the season, as Low releasedAlbert Leake and sold Stan Steele toWest Bromwich Albion for £10,000.[5] Vale recorded a seventh-place finish, and Low ended the campaign by releasingHarry Oscroft (Brantham Athletic),Ted Calland (Lincoln City),John Poole (Macclesfield Town), and Peter Hall (Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic).[5]
He added to his squad for the1961–62 campaign by spending £2,000 on inside-forwardArthur Longbottom (Queens Park Rangers); £10,000 on Stan Steele (back from West Brom); and £2,000 on centre-halfJohn Nicholson (Liverpool); whilst free signings included wingerStan Edwards (Everton), goalkeeperPeter Taylor (Middlesbrough), andJoe Maloney (Shrewsbury Town).[5] He sold Cliff Portwood to Grimsby Town for £6,000 to balance the books.[5]The Sentinel commented that "gloom has descended" following a poor start to the season, however, the Vale's form improved after Low soldDennis Fidler to Grimsby Town for £2,000, signedColin Grainger fromLeeds United for £6,000, and further added to his firepower by signingRalph Hunt fromSwindon Town for £3,500.[5] Stanley Matthews' return to theVictoria Ground resulted in Low unsuccessfully trying to temptTom Finney out of retirement.[5] The Vale finished in 12th place, and Low sold three players for £2,000 each:Brian Jackson toPeterborough United, Ralph Hunt toNewport County, andDavid Raine toDoncaster Rovers.[5]
Low planned for the1962–63 season by signingJohn Rowland, a 'tall and skilful' outside-right fromNottingham Forest, for £6,000.[5] His team began reasonably well. However, Low could not 'see eye to eye with the board on their buying policy' and tendered his resignation in October 1962.[3] One staff member later reported that Low had travelled toHuddersfield Town to signWillie Davie for a £20,000 fee; However, during his absence the Port Vale directors finalised agreements for Freddie Steele to return to the club, and upon his return he found himself out of a job.[6]
Low later served as ascout atStoke City andLiverpool before taking up the reins atnon-LeagueWitton Albion[3] in 1967. He later emigrated to North America, where he became the coach of the short-livedNational Professional Soccer League sideCleveland Stokers.[3]
He was the son ofScottish international playerWilf Low.[2] His uncleHarry and cousinWillie[7][8] were also footballers.
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 1934–35 | First Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 1935–36 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1936–37 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Newport County | 1936–37 | Third Division South | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 1937–38 | Third Division South | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| 1938–39 | Third Division South | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| 1939–40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1945–46 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1946–47 | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 112 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 133 | 0 | ||
| Norwich City | 1946–47 | Third Division South | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 1947–48 | Third Division South | 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 0 | |
| 1947–48 | Third Division South | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| 1948–50 | Third Division South | 42 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| Total | 150 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 163 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 275 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 309 | 0 | ||
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Norwich City | 4 March 1950 | 22 April 1955 | 258 | 129 | 56 | 73 | 050.0 |
| Workington | 1 January 1956 | 1 February 1957 | 53 | 24 | 14 | 15 | 045.3 |
| Port Vale | 1 February 1957 | 1 October 1962 | 285 | 116 | 65 | 104 | 040.7 |
| Total | 596 | 269 | 135 | 192 | 045.1 | ||
Newport County
Port Vale