Henry Cowan (5 December 1893 – 1974) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

and

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermline ...

in his native country and for several clubs – primarily the

New Bedford Whalers New Bedford Whalers was the name of three American soccer teams based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first Whalers played in the Southern New England Soccer League between 1914 and 1918. The second Whalers played in the American Soccer League ...

– in the United States, mainly as a full back. Reports from the time indicate that he was

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

and/or

mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

Career

Scotland

Raised in

Eastfield, South Lanarkshire Eastfield is a mainly residential district in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located between the industrial towns of Rutherglen and Cambuslang in the south-east of the Greater Glasgow urban area. It is situated south of the River Clyde, adjoinin ...

, Cowan began his known senior career with local club

in 1916 (he was around 22 years old and it is likely he played for other clubs earlier, but this is unconfirmed). He was ever-present in his first season at

Shawfield Stadium Shawfield Stadium is a closed greyhound racing, football and speedway venue in the Shawfield district of the town of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located close to the boundary with Glasgow. Originally a football ground, Shawfield w ...

– 38 league appearances – and continued to feature regularly for the club throughout the duration of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(when many competitions were suspended but the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km south ...

continued for public morale), suggesting that he was employed in a

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, w ...

in addition to being a sportsman, although his later marriage and travel documentation listed him as a dyer outwith football so it may have been his hearing impairment which excused him from active service. A match report from October 1918 stated that Cowan "''was again a dominating personality at pivot''" in a victory over Hearts. His eight years at Clyde also included reaching three finals of the

Glasgow Cup The Glasgow Cup is a football tournament open to teams from Glasgow, Scotland. Operated by the Glasgow Football Association, it was competed for annually by senior Glasgow clubs from 1887 until 1989. It is now (since the 2019–20 amended rules ...

, all ending in defeat (twice losing out to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and once to Rangers after a replay, in which Cowan conceded a penalty kick for handball which resulted in the only goal). His spell at the club ended at the same time as their relegation from the top division in 1923–24, ending an 18-year run in the top division. A

benefit match A benefit is a match or season of activities granted by a sporting body to a loyal sportsman to boost their income before retirement. Often this is in the form of a match for which all the ticket proceeds are given to the player in question. Howeve ...

was played for him against Rangers in March 1924 to recognise his long service.

United States

Cowan moved on to

for one season before heading to the United States, aged 31, to play in the American Soccer League.Harry Cowan
Stats Crew Initially he was with the

, playing regularly for two seasons and winning the

Lewis Cup The Lewis Cup was an American soccer trophy established in 1914 as the championship trophy for the amateur Blue Mountain League, which was composed of clubs from the Lehigh Valley region of northeastern Pennsylvania. It was later awarded to the win ...

in 1926. He then had short spells with other clubs: he began 1927–28 with the

Hartford Americans The Hartford Americans was an American soccer club based in Hartford, Connecticut that was member of the professional American Soccer League (1921-1933), American Soccer League. They joined the league in 1927, but were dropped early in the season t ...

before they were withdrawn from the league, then played a few matches each for the New York Nationals and the

Fall River F.C. Fall River Football Club, also referred to as Fall River Field Club, was the name used by two United States soccer clubs, based in Fall River, Massachusetts. Both played in the American Soccer League during the early 1930s. The name is often used ...

– he was not involved in the later stages of the Nationals' winning run in the

1928 National Challenge Cup The 1928 National Challenge Cup was the annual open cup held by the United States Football Association now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Eastern Division Western Division Final References {{1927–28 in American soccer U.S. ...

. In 1928–29 he played for J. & P. Coats who changed identity mid-season to become the Pawtucket Rangers. By now at the veteran stage, he returned to the Whalers in 1929 and played a handful of games for them, likely as an emergency stand-in, over the next two seasons,Henry Cowan
SoccerStats.us a somewhat chaotic period known as the 'soccer wars', featuring several disputes, teams resigning and rival leagues being created, coinciding with the

great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

which brought about the end of the system altogether a few years later.

Personal life

His son of the same name was born in Scotland but grew up in

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

and became an American citizen in order to serve in the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

during

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 ...

; he was killed in action in 1944.Sgt Henry Cowan Jr.
Find A Grave

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Harry 1893 births 1974 deaths Date of death missing Scottish men's footballers Footballers from Rutherglen Men's association football defenders Scottish emigrants to the United States Deaf association football players Scottish Football League players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Clyde F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players New Bedford Whalers players Hartford Americans players New York Nationals (ASL) players Pawtucket Rangers players Fall River F.C. (1922–1931) players Scottish deaf people