Isaac Owens (1881–1916) was an English

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 as an inside left or

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Woolwich Arsenal and Grimsby Town. He also played

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

(in three separate spells),

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

Crook Town Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Footba ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, Bristol Rovers and Crystal Palace.

Life and career

Owens was born in

Howden-le-Wear Howden-le-Wear is a village in County Durham, in England. Howden-le-Wear is approximately 1 mile south of the large market town of Crook Crook is another name for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places * Crook, County Durha ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, in 1881. Retrieved 10 February 2017. He began his football career with

of the Northern League and then joined

. He contributed to Bishops winning the 1900–01 Northern League title, and played for them in the first Champions versus Rest of the League fixture, before moving on to another Northern League team,

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

-holders

. His stay there was brief: in October 1901 he signed for

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

club Woolwich Arsenal. Owens made his debut in

away to

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...

on 12 October; playing at inside left, he scored one of the goals in a 2–2 draw. He was not selected for the next match, but returned to the side for the one after, in the London League, and retained the inside-left position for twelve competitive matches, scoring once more, in a 2–0 win at home to

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial Re ...

. He also scored on his last senior Arsenal appearance, playing at outside left in a London League match against Queens Park Rangers. When not required for first-team matches, Owens contributed to Arsenal's junior teams winning the London League Reserve Championship and West Kent League titles. Owens returned to Darlington, playing for them in the Northern League and

1903–04 FA Cup The 1903–04 FA Cup was the 33rd season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). Manchester City won the competition for the first time, beating Bolton Wan ...

he contributed the winner against

Shildon Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on ...

in the preliminary round replay and two goals in a 5–2 defeat of Bishop Auckland in the second qualifying round and then, in May 1904, he signed for

of the Southern League. His first appearance for Argyle came on 12 October in a Western League match at home to Queens Park Rangers. He played his first Southern League match some six weeks later, and scored his first goals on 10 December, contributing both Argyle goals in a 2–2 draw at home to Northampton Town in the Southern League. Assessing his performance in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against First Division club

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' reporter described him as "essentially a trier, by no means lacking in dash or the finer points of the game." In the 1904–05 season, Owens was used as backup to centre-forward

Jasper McLuckie Jasper McLuckie (1 January 1878 – 1924) was a Scottish Association football, footballer who played as a centre-forward. He played in the Football League for Bury F.C., Bury and Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa, the Southern Football League, Sout ...

, and finished the season with four goals from 13 league appearances. With the arrival of Harry Wilcox ahead of the 1905–06 season, Owens' chances of first-team football appeared limited, but he had a run in the team when Wilcox was used at centre half, and ended up making 28 appearances from which he scored seven goals. In 1906, Owens signed for another Southern League club, Bristol Rovers; he had played against them several timesand scored against themfor Plymouth Argyle. He returned the favour in January 1907, with the first goal of a 2–0 win against Argyle, but was unable to establish himself as a first-team regular, and finished the season with six goals from 17 Southern League appearances. He spent the 1907–08 season with Crystal Palace, for whom he appeared at half back as well as in the forward line. He scored eight goals from 22 Southern League matches, and then returned to the Football League with Grimsby Town. Despite scoring on his debut, against Stockport County on the opening day of the season, and adding two more goals from just five more Second Division matches, he was rated "disappointing and lacking pace", and by February 1909 he was back at Darlington. He scored 15 goals between then and the end of the season, including a run of at least one goal in each of the eight North-Eastern League matches in February and March, and scored in the 1909–10 FA Cup in a 2–0 defeat of Horden Athletic. Owens died in Devonport, Devon, in 1916 at the age of 35.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Isaac 1881 births 1916 deaths People from County Durham (district) Footballers from County Durham English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Darlington F.C. players Bishop Auckland F.C. players Crook Town A.F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Northern Football League players English Football League players Western Football League players Southern Football League players Date of birth missing Date of death missing