William Spencer Rowley (11 September 1865 – 16 March 1934) was an English footballer who played as goalkeeper for Stoke in the 1880s and 1890s, also making two appearances for England.

Rowley was born in Hanley, Staffordshire and started his professional career playing in Stoke's reserve team as a forward in August 1883.

He made his league debut on 8 September 1888, keeping goal for Stoke in a 2–0 defeat by West Bromwich Albion at the Victoria Ground.

He played 21 of Stoke's 22 Football League matches and kept three clean sheets whilst restricting the opposition to a single goal on four occasions.

[3] He was a virtual ever-present throughout his first six years with Stoke, and his form earned him a call into the national team for the match against Ireland on 2 March 1889.

The match was played at Anfield, then the home of Everton, and the selectors made eleven changes to the side that had beaten Wales a week before with nine new caps, including Rowley's Stoke teammate, Tommy Clare at right-back.

Rowley's only other England appearance came three years later, also against Ireland, at the Solitude Ground, Belfast, when he was joined by his Stoke teammates Tommy Clare and Alf Underwood as the two full-backs.

[3] A charismatic wheeler-dealer, Rowley often paid transfer fees from his own pockets and even took Alan Maxwell from Darwen in exchange for a set of wrought iron gates.

"[14] Rowley picked up numerous injuries from his fearless play in defending his goal from sometimes violent attackers, and his resilience made him a popular figure with football supporters across the country.