Henry William "Harry" Dowd (born 4 July 1938 in Salford, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 goalkeeper who played for Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

, Stoke City

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 and Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

.

Career

At the start of his career Dowd combined amateur football playing for ICI Blackley with a job as a plumber. On 10 January 1958 he signed for Manchester City as an amateur, and turned professional two years later. In December 1961 he made his debut in a 4-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

, deputising for the injured Bert Trautmann

Bert Trautmann

Bernhard Carl "Bert" Trautmann, OBE is a German former professional footballer who played for Manchester City from 1949 to 1964. Brought up during times of inter-war strife in Germany, Trautmann joined the Luftwaffe early in the Second World War, serving as a paratrooper...

. In the 1961-62

1962-63 in English football

The 1962–63 season was the 83rd season of competitive football in England.-Overview:*Everton won the League Championship, their first post-war title.*Manchester United won the FA Cup, their first major trophy since the Munich Air Disaster in 1958....

 season he established himself as first choice goalkeeper, making 34 appearances. In February 1964, Dowd broke his finger in a game against Bury

Bury F.C.

Bury Football Club is an association football team based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The team currently play in League One. The club's nickname is The Shakers which was bestowed upon them by club chairman JT Ingham, an industrialist and ironmonger of the late 1890s.-Formation of the club and the...

. Unable to continue playing in goal, he moved to centre-forward, where he scored the equalising goal.

During Manchester City's championship winning 1967-68

1967-68 in English football

The 1967–68 season was the 88th season of competitive football in England.-Honours:Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition-FA Cup:...

 season, Dowd lost his first team place through injury to Ken Mulhearn

Ken Mulhearn

Kenneth John Mulhearn is an English former football goalkeeper who played for Stockport County, Manchester City, Shrewsbury Town and Crewe Alexandra....

, and made only seven first team appearances therefore missing out on a League Championship Medal. However he regained his place the following season, and played on the winning side in the 1969 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...

 final, where Manchester City beat Leicester City

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

 1-0.

In the 1969–70 season, Dowd lost his first team place again, this time to Joe Corrigan

Joe Corrigan

Joseph Thomas Corrigan , is a former football goalkeeper who played for Manchester City and England.-Career:...

. His final Manchester City appearance was against Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 in the final match of 1969–70, and in December 1970 he was transferred to Oldham Athletic, where he played 111 times.

Footnotes