Francis "Frank" Bowen (19 Sep 1896 – ) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and at club level for St. Helens Recs and St. Helens, as a , or .

Background

Frank Bowen's birth was registered in

Prescot Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civ ...

district,

, England, he was the

Landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...

of the Vine Tavern in

Thatto Heath Thatta ( sd, ٺٽو; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh. Thatta was the medieval capital of Sindh, and served as the seat of power for three successive dynasties. Thatta's historic significance has yielded several monuments in and ...

, coaching its successful amateur rugby league team after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and he died aged .

Playing career

International honours

Frank Bowen won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at St. Helens Recs in 1928 against New Zealand (3 matches).

County honours

Frank Bowen represented

while at St. Helens Recs in 1922 against Australia at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

County Cup Final appearances

Frank Bowen did not play in St. Helens Recs' 17–0 victory over Swinton in the 1923–24 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1923–24 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

on Saturday 24 November 1923, in front of a crowd of 25,656, he did not play in the 0–10 defeat by

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

in the 1924–25 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1924–25 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named after the abunda ...

on Saturday 22 November 1924, in front of a crowd of 15,000, but he played right- in the 18–3 victory over

in the

1930–31 Lancashire Cup The 1930–31 Lancashire Cup was the twenty-third occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held. St Helens Recs won the trophy by beating Wigan in the final by the score of 5–4. Competition and results The number of teams ...

Final during the 1930–31 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 29 November 1930, in front of a crowd on 16,710.

Testimonial match

Frank Bowen's

Testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

for St. Helens Recs took place against a Jim Sullivan Select XIII in 1931.

Genealogical information

Frank Bowen was the older brother of the rugby league , and of the 1920s and 1930s for St. Helens, and St. Helens Recs;

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

"Tom" Bowenbr>
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=o5Cp49m7bHcR4IHMO37kYA&scan=1] his other brothers also played for St. Helens Recs.

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Frank 1896 births 1964 deaths English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Place of death missing Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from St Helens, Merseyside St Helens Recreation RLFC players St Helens R.F.C. players