Geoff Vowden

Geoffrey Alan Vowden (born 27 April 1941) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward in the Football League for Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City and Aston Villa, and in the North American Soccer League for the New York Cosmos.

Vowden was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire and raised in Jersey. When he was 18 he came over to England to join Nottingham Forest, where he signed professional forms at Christmas 1959. After scoring 40 goals in 90 League games for Forest, he was sold to Birmingham City for £25,000 in October 1964.

He spent nearly seven seasons at Birmingham, scoring at a rate of a goal every three games, and finished as their leading goalscorer three seasons running, from 1964–65 to 1966–67. On 7 September 1968, playing for Birmingham against Huddersfield Town in the Second Division, he became the first substitute to score a hat-trick in a Football League game.

In March 1971 Vowden joined Aston Villa for a fee of £12,500. In his first full season at Aston Villa he scored 11 goals which contributed to the club winning the Third Division championship.

In the summer of 1974 he played for New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League. On his return he joined Southern League club Kettering Town as player/manager, succeeding Ron Atkinson, in December 1974. He later coached domestically and in Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.

• with Aston Villa
  • Third Division champions 1971–72