Robert Cowell (5 December 1922 – 11 January 1996) was an English football defender. During his football career he only played for one club, Newcastle United. Despite his success with Newcastle he failed to win any caps for the England national team.

Career

Cowell was born in Trimdon Grange and worked as a

coalminer Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

at Blackhall Colliery as a teenager, as well as playing for the non-league football team Blackhall Colliery Welfare. He joined Newcastle in October 1943 at the age of 20 – a time when the club were only playing friendly matches as

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 opposing ...

meant all the football leagues in England were suspended. He made 81 appearances for Newcastle as a right-back. He made his Football League debut on 1 February 1947 in a match against Barnsley and would feature a further 12 times before the end of the season. He only played 19 league games for the rest of the following season as Newcastle were promoted into the First Division. However, he bided his time and became the club's first choice right-back for the 1948–49 season. Along with Jackie Milburn and Bobby Mitchel Cowell featured in all three of Newcastle's

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 ...

successes during the 1950s. He won his first FA Cup winners medal in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

when Newcastle beat Blackpool 2–0 and the following year he was part of the team that surprised Arsenal and the first team to retain the cup since 1891. He won his third FA Cup title in 1955 against Manchester City.

Retirement and death

Bobby Cowell was forced to retire in 1955 at the age of 33 when he picked up a serious knee injury during a pre-season tour of Germany. He had made 330 appearances for Newcastle. One of Newcastle United's top goalscorers of all time,

Jackie Milburn John Edward Thompson "Jackie" Milburn (11 May 1924 – 9 October 1988) was a football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield. He was also known as Wor Jackie (particularly ...

, stated that Cowell was "the best uncapped fullback I've ever known". Bobby Cowell died on 11 January 1996 in Newcastle upon Tyne, aged 73.

Career statistics

:A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals in the Charity Shield and

Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...

Honours

As a player

Newcastle United *

winner:

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, 1955

References

External links

Spartacus entry
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowell, Bob Cowell 1922 births 1996 deaths English footballers English Football League players Association football defenders Newcastle United F.C. players English miners People from Trimdon Footballers from County Durham Blackhall Colliery Welfare F.C. players FA Cup Final players