James William Bowden (August 1880 – 25 May 1951) 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 at

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for various clubs in the 1900s.

Football career

Bowden was born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

and played his early football for various local clubs before joining

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on amateur terms in January 1903. He failed to make the grade at Villa and never appeared in the first team, before moving to local rivals

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 ...

in June 1904. At Albion, he had to compete for the No. 5 shirt with Ted Pheasant and only made eight

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

appearances in the 1904–05 season. As a result of a shooting accident in which a bullet passed through his left arm, he missed the entire 1905–06 season. By the time he was fit to play once more, Pheasant had become established at centre-half and Bowden was transferred to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

of the Southern League. At Southampton, he took over at centre-half from

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard A ...

who had left during the close season after six years in which he hardly missed a match. Despite his lack of height, Bowden impressed the Saints' fans with his "''stylish neatness when in possession''". Bowden missed two months mid-season following an injury (when he was replaced by

John Robertson John, Jon, or Jonathan Robertson may refer to: Politicians United Kingdom politicians * J. M. Robertson (John Mackinnon Robertson, 1856–1933), British journalist and Liberal MP for Tyneside 1906–1918 *John Robertson (Bothwell MP) (1867–1926) ...

) before returning at the end of January for the rest of the season. He played the last four matches at left-half, with Frank Thorpe taking over at

, following an injury to Bill Gray. In the summer of 1907, he returned to the

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 ...

with Grimsby Town, but in two seasons managed only nineteen games for the Mariners before dropping down to

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 ...

, firstly with Hyde of the Lancashire Combination and then with Stourbridge of the Birmingham & District League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, James 1880 births 1951 deaths Footballers from Wolverhampton English men's footballers English Football League players Southern Football League players Aston Villa F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players Men's association football central defenders