Colin Cowperthwaite is a former 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...

 semi-professional

Semi-professional

A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...

 footballer. He is best known as the overall top scorer and record appearance holder for Barrow AFC

Barrow A.F.C.

Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...

, a club he played for from December 1977 till December 1992, where he scored 282 goals in 704 league and cup games. He has been voted Barrow's all-time greatest player.

Cowperthwaite made his debut for Barrow AFC in 1977 when the team were in the Northern Premier League

Northern Premier League

The Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...

, 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. The biggest success in that period came in 1990 when Barrow beat Leek Town

Leek Town F.C.

Leek Town Football Club is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire, currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South...

 3-0 in the FA Trophy

FA Trophy

The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...

 final at Wembley

Wembley

Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...

, in which Cowperthwaite scored. When Cowperthwaite retired in 1992, his testimonial

Testimonial

In promotion and of advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a written or spoken statement, sometimes from a person figure, sometimes from a private citizen, extolling the virtue of some product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary...

 match was held against 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...

. After retiring, he continued to be active in the local amateur football scene, playing for local club Cartmel

Cartmel

Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, situated north-west of Grange-over-Sands and close to the River Eea. Historically it was in Lancashire; boundary changes brought it into the newly created county of Cumbria in 1974, yet keeping it within the boundaries of the traditional County Palatine...

 in the North Lancashire and District Football League

North Lancashire and District Football League

The North Lancashire and District Football League is a football competition based in England...

, later managing the team in two different spells.

His 1979 goal after just 3.5 seconds in a game against Kettering Town

Kettering Town F.C.

Kettering Town Football Club are a football club originating in Kettering, Northamptonshire but currently based in the nearby village of Irthlingborough. The club play in the Conference National after winning the Conference North in 2007–08...

 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

Marc Burrows

Marc "Buzz" Burrows was an English football player, who played as a forward. He grew up in Sandown on the Isle of Wight and attended Sandham Middle School before heading to Sandown High School.- Playing career :...

 in a reserve match.

He is the father of Niall Cowperthwaite

Niall Cowperthwaite

Niall Thomas Cowperthwaite is an English professional footballer who plays for Morecambe, as a defender.-Career statistics:-References:...

, who currently plays as a defender for Morecambe

Morecambe F.C.

Morecambe Football Club is an English football club based in Morecambe, Lancashire. It plays its football in League Two, the fourth division of English football, having been promoted in 2007 for the first time in their history to the Football League. They played their home matches at Christie Park...

 in League Two. Cowps Jnr Nets New Deal for Morecambe North West Evening Mail. 19-05-11. Accessed at Hexham Courant. 09-08-11