Lew M. Bowen was the first club secretary of English

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 ...

club West Ham United. Born in Swansea, Bowen was a clerk at the

Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cannin ...

and had reported on predecessor club

Thames Ironworks F.C. Thames Ironworks Football Club, the club that later became West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, was founded by Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor (Thames Ironworks F.C. founder), Dave Taylor in ...

for the ''Thames Ironworks Gazette''. He was installed immediately following the new club's formation in June 1900. Bowen remained at the club as

financial director The chief financial officer (CFO) is an Corporate title, officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finance, finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, r ...

after Syd King was appointed secretary during the 1901–02 season. He would also perform the role of league delegate. In 1903, Bowen was involved in an application to the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

for West Ham's home, the

Memorial Grounds Memorial Grounds was the home stadium of East London football club Thames Ironworks from the beginning of the 1897–98 season, until the end of the 1899–1900 season. The team continued to play at the stadium, under its new name of West Ham ...

, to host an

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 ...

final or semi-final. "I think that we have fairly proved the possibilities of putting a crowd of over 100,000 in the Grounds. I believe the correct figures are 133,000 allowing for 16 inches for each person", he stated in a letter to the FA.

References

Year of birth missing Year of death missing Sportspeople from Swansea Welsh sportswriters Association football journalists West Ham United F.C. club secretaries West Ham United F.C. directors and chairmen {{Wales-footy-bio-stub