Jimmy Cowen

Jimmy Cowen
Personal information
Full name	James Ernest Cowen
Date of birth	22 January 1902
Place of birth	Distington, England
Date of death	5 July 1950 (aged 48)
Place of death	Peterborough, England
Position(s)	Centre forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
19xx–1925	Whitehaven Athletic
1925–1926	Nelson
1926–1927	Barnoldswick Town
1927–1929	Northampton Town
1929–1933	Southport
1933–1934	Aldershot
1934–1935	Peterborough United
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Ernest Cowen (22 January 1902 – 5 July 1950) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward. He played over 100 matches in the Football League for Southport.

Early life and career at Whitehaven[edit]

Jimmy Cowen was born in Distington, near Cumbria. He was in the Workington Under-18s and attracted Whitehaven Athletic, who eventually brought him to the club where he trained for 2 years before leaving. Not much is known about his Whitehaven career. He left to join Nelson.

Career in East Lancashire[edit]

Cowen made his debut in the 4–1 loss to Plymouth, scoring a consolation goal for Nelson. He scored a brace in the 2–1 win against Northampton Town but fractured his ankle. He couldn't help Nelson escape the drop. After his ankle was fully healed, he started the game against Aldershot and scored in the 2–2 draw. After that, he slowly slipped into the reserve team and was sold to Barnoldswick Town.

He made his debut for Barnoldswick in a game against Workington, scoring two in a 5-0 drubbing. He became a first team regular and reached a point where people knew he would become a prolific player. He scored a hattrick against Carlisle City. Barnoldswick won 4–2. He scored another hattrick against Aldershot in a 2–3 win. Northampton Town showed an interest in him and the transfer was finally accepted. His last game was against Nelson his old club, where he got the winning and only goal.

Northampton Town and move to Southport[edit]

Northampton needed to get something out of Cowen but he was injured in a 1–0 loss to Charlton Athletic suffering a broken leg. He couldn't make his full debut and could only play on the last day where Northampton needed a win against Preston Athletic. Cowen got the assist for the winning goal for Northampton in a 1–0 win. Meanwhile, Southport scouts had sought an interest in Cowen when he was at Barnoldswick. He was moved for free to Southport, where he reached the pinnacle of his career.

References[edit]

Dykes, Garth (2009). Nelson FC in the Football League. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-905891-29-0.
Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 62. ISBN 1-899468-67-6.