His brothers Louis and George also played for Nelson.
In April 1878, in a first-class match against Wellington in which 40 wickets fell for 297 runs, Fowler made the highest score on either side of 28 not out and 15.
[2] In the match Nelson played against the touring Australians in February 1881, Fowler opened the batting and scored 30 in the first innings; in the whole match no one else on either side exceeded 16.
Nelson led the Australians by 11 runs on the first innings in the drawn match.
[3] Fowler lived in Riwaka, near Motueka, where he died in July 1915, leaving a widow and family.