Colin Cowperthwaite

Colin Cowperthwaite (born 16 April 1959) is an English former semi-professional footballer. He is best known as the overall top scorer and record appearance holder for Barrow, a club he played for from December 1977 till December 1992, where he scored 282 goals in 704 league and cup games.[1] He has been voted Barrow's all-time greatest player.[1]

Colin Cowperthwaite
Personal information
Date of birth (1959-04-16) 16 April 1959
Place of birth Flookburgh, Lancashire, England
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1977–1992 Barrow 704 (282)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Cowperthwaite made his debut for Barrow in 1977 when the team were in the Northern Premier League, five years after they had been relegated from the football league. During his period at the club, he won two Northern Premier League titles, playing eight seasons in that league and nine in the Alliance Premier League.[2] The biggest success in that period came in 1990 when Barrow beat Leek Town 3–0 in the FA Trophy final at Wembley, in which Cowperthwaite scored.[3][4] When Cowperthwaite retired in 1992, his testimonial match was held against Manchester City.[5] After retiring, he continued to be active in the local amateur football scene. He played for Cartmel in the North Lancashire and District Football League, later managing the team in two different spells.[6] With Cartmel he played alongside a young Jason Walker, who grew up in the same village of Flookburgh as Cowperthwaite; like Cowperthwaite, Walker would go on to score for Barrow in an FA Trophy final at Wembley.[7]

His 1979-goal after just 3.5 seconds in a game against Kettering Town[8] was at the time the fastest recorded in the English game, and is still the fastest in a national competition, though a faster goal has since been scored by Marc Burrows in a reserve match.[9]

He is the father of Niall Cowperthwaite, who played in the Football League with Morecambe, and who also went on to play for Barrow.[10]

References
  1. The highlight of my career Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, North West Evening Mail, 2010-05-06. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
  2. Barrow AFC Football Club History Database; Accessed 16 March 2008
  3. Barrow back on the map Roberts, Martin; 2000; BBC Sport; Accessed 16 March 2008
  4. McDonald, Neil. "We can repeat heroics of 1990". North-West Evening Mail. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  5. "Sunderland Chief Quinn Praises Barrow AFC Fans and Offers to Help Club". Hexham Courant. 7 January 2010. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  6. Legend Cowps Back at Holker Street on Wednesday Night Archived 26 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine North West Evening Mail. 20–04–10. Accessed 9–08–11
  7. Procter, Lee. "I'm still really in shock". North-West Evening Mail. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  8. Football's fastest goal claimed Hodgson, Guy and Searl, Liz; 1995; The Independent; Accessed 16 March 2008
  9. English amateur claims world's fastest goal World Cup Soccer; 2004; Accessed 16 March 2008
  10. "Barrow sign Niall Cowperthwaite and Ted Cribley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
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