James Cowan (17 October 1868 – 12 December 1918) was a Scottish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and

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, winning five

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

titles and two

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

winners medals at

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 ...

and later taking charge of

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

Playing career

Club

Born in Jamestown,

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...

, Cowan was a half-back who played with local sides Renton and

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ' ...

before moving to England in 1888 to play for the Warwickshire County FC. The following season, he wished to pursue a professional career and joined

and spent 12 years with the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

side. When Cowan played for the club in the 1890s and early 1900s, they were the giants of

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 ...

. While at Villa, he won five First Division titles (in 1893–94, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1898–99 and 1899–1900) and two

winners medals (

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

and

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...

, after being a beaten finalist in

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

) and played 354 times in all; he is considered to be one of the finest players of the Victorian era. For four years, his younger brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

also played for Aston Villa.

International

Cowan was selected for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on three occasions, in 1896 being one of a group of five men who were the first to be selected while playing for an English club, in the process becoming Aston Villa's first international for that nation. Controversy dogged him after a disappointing performance in a defeat

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1898, in which he was the Scottish captain; it emerged that he had not been fit to play through illness (possibly alcohol-related), and both the player and the selection committee were heavily criticised in the press for failing to replace him before the match began.Cowan's Indisposition.
The Scottish Referee, 8 April 1898, scan via London Hearts Supporters Club He was not selected for international duties again.

Managerial career

After retiring from playing in 1902, he coached the young players at Villa for a few years before deciding to accept the role of manager of

in 1907. QPR had just moved to a new ground designed By

Archibald Leitch Archibald Keir Leitch (27 April 1865 – 25 April 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Early work Born in Glasgow, Leitch's early work was on designing tea ...

at Park Royal and Cowan was the club's first official manager. In his initial season he led them to the Southern League title and held

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to a fine 1-1 draw in the Charity Shield. Four years later he led QPR to another Southern League title. Off-the-field problems however prevented him from leading the club into

. Prior to the start of the 1913–14 season he offered his resignation on the grounds of ill health which the directors accepted. He died at

St Bartholomew's Hospital, London St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

, in December 1918.

Other sports

In 1890 Cowan played professional baseball for Aston Villa in the National League of Baseball of Great Britain. He was renowned for his speed. On one occasion he missed a Villa match due to his attending (and winning) the illustrious 100 yard

New Year Sprint The New Year Sprint (formerly the Powderhall Sprint) is the name of a handicap sprint race for professional athletes that takes place each year in Scotland. The sprint is one of the original events of this type, tracing its history back to 1870 ...

event held at

Powderhall Powderhall is an area lying between Broughton Road and Warriston Road in the north of Edinburgh, the Scotland, Scottish capital. Until recently it was best known for Powderhall Stadium, a greyhound racing track, which has now closed. The stadiu ...

. The club fined him but he still made a healthy profit due to the prize money.

Managerial statistics

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, James 1868 births 1918 deaths Scottish footballers Scottish baseball players Scotland international footballers Aston Villa F.C. players Scottish football managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers English Football League players Southern Football League managers Renton F.C. players Vale of Leven F.C. players Association football wing halves Association football coaches Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from West Dunbartonshire FA Cup Final players