Norman Terence Sinclair Rowe (born 8 June 1964) is an English retired professional footballer. He spent three seasons in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

, eight in the Major Indoor Soccer League, four in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pr ...

and two in the National Professional Soccer League.

Playing career

After a spell with

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

as a junior, Rowe began his career in the

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings w ...

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if ...

when he was fifteen. He turned professional with Brentford and became the first black player to make a senior appearance for the club. Rowe played 81 games before a change of managers saw him demoted to the reserves. In 1984, after moves to Wimbledon and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

fell through, scouts from the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the Major Indoor Soccer League approached him and he moved to the United States. He remained with the Wings until 1990. On 6 July 1990, he signed a one-year contract with the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

. However, in September, he discovered that the move to Cleveland voided his work visa and he returned to the Wings. In February 1991, he signed with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier ...

of the

. He finished the MISL season with Wichita, then joined the Rowdies in April. In August 1991, he rejoined the Wings for the 1991–1992 MISL season, then was back with the Rowdies in the summer of 1992. This season the Rowdies went to the APSL championship game before losing to the

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League, and later in the A-League, between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 1 ...

. By this time, the MISL had collapsed and the Wings moved to the National Professional Soccer League. The move led to a complete revamping of their roster and Rowe was not offered a contract. He returned to England to seek a new team there, but returned to the United States after

Terry Nicholl Terence John Nicholl (born 16 September 1952) is an English retired Association football midfielder who played professionally in both England and the United States. He later managed several indoor teams in the United States where he was the 1987 ...

, ex-coach of the Wings asked him to come play for the Dayton Dynamo which Nicholl was now coaching in the NPSL. He played only one month with Dayton before returning to England for a trial with Cambridge F.C. However, he was back with the Rowdies for the 1993 season. He was named team captain, but injures marred his season and he played only eleven games. In 1994, he signed with the

Detroit Neon The Detroit Safari (founded as the Detroit Neon) was a member of the Continental Indoor Soccer League that played at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Their owners, the Palace Sports Group were awarded a franchise on November 4, 1993. Their star player ...

in the

. He spent the 1994 and 1995 seasons in Detroit (returning to England between the seasons to play for

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

side

Chertsey Town Chertsey Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chertsey, Surrey, England. The club currently competes in the Isthmian League South Central Division. The home of Football The club was established as Chertsey Football ...

) and received offers from

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standin ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

in England, but remained committed to indoor football in the United States due to financial considerations. Rowe moved to the

Indianapolis Twisters Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

for the 1996 season. He began the 1997 season with the Twisters before being traded in July, along with

Rich Ryerson Rich Ryerson is a former U.S. soccer midfielder who spent three seasons in the American Professional Soccer League, one in the National Professional Soccer League, one in the Eastern Indoor Soccer League and four in the Continental Indoor Soccer ...

to the

Anaheim Splash The Anaheim Splash was a U.S. indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). It was founded in 1992 as the Los Angeles United, but was sold after the season. The new ownership moved the team to Anaheim, Californi ...

in exchange for Paul McDonnell and a 1998 first-round draft pick. On 16 October 1997, Rowe signed a short-term contract with the Wings. He played five games, then left to play for an English team. He returned to the Wings in July 1998.

Coaching career

Rowe has held coaching roles at Chertsey Town and at

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

youth club P&T Panthers.

Personal life

Rowe appears in the 1984 ''

Minder A minder is the person assigned to guide or escort a visitor, or to provide protection to somebody, or to otherwise assist or take care of something, i.e. a person who " minds". Government-appointed persons to accompany foreign visitors are of ...

'' episode ''The Long Ride Back to Scratchwood'', filmed at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

References

External links

MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Terry American Professional Soccer League players Anaheim Splash players Brentford F.C. players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Dayton Dynamo players Detroit Neon players English footballers English expatriate footballers Indiana Twisters players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players 1964 births Living people Chertsey Town F.C. players Isthmian League players Association football defenders Association football midfielders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States