Another article from One of Cobblers Pasts Guest writers Peter Stevenson, a very interesting read on Ted Bowen – The Goldthorpe Goal Machine.

Long before Dave Bowen was synonymous with Northampton Town F.C., another man with the same surname shone brightly for the club but today his exploits seem somewhat overlooked. Yet he was a prolific goal scorer and by the end of his tenure with the Cobblers, he had netted an impressive 120 goals in 172 games. To this day he remains the club’s second highest ever goal scorer behind Jack English, a feat achieved in far fewer matches. For over 30 years he held a club record for the most league goals in a season, only bettered by Cliff Holton in the early 60s. So who was Ted Bowen and why is his legacy largely forgotten?

Despite the common name and association with both Arsenal and Northampton, Ted Bowen and Dave Bowen were not related. Dave Bowen was Welsh, of course and was born in June 1928 and raised in Natyffyllon, near Maesteg, Wales, just after Ted was beginning his career with Northampton Town. However, both men also shared the legacy of a mining heritage – Ted Bowen’s father Ben earned his crust by hewing the coal, while Dave’s dad, Brynmor, was a colliery examiner; a less dangerous profession perhaps but one that could still force the employee underground.

Edward Bowen (occasionally Eddie but usually Ted) was born in the ancient South Yorkshire village of Goldthorpe in 1903. Initially an amateur footballer, he began his trade with local outfit Goldthorpe United. As his abilities flourished, he also had spells with two other neighbouring sides, Mexborough and then Wath Athletic in the Midland League. A free scoring centre-forward, his appearance was suggestive of a man carved from granite. By modern standards, his 5’ 8” stature might seem short but weighing in at 12 stone, he was a sturdy and strong striker. Bowen looked like he might have been better suited for a long shift down the local mine but the coal industry’s loss was football’s gain and his talents would eventually impress upon Arsenal. Arriving a little late to the professional game, he joined the Gunners for the princely sum of £500 in February 1926 – he was aged 22 at the time.

Under the early management of Herbert Chapman (the Cobblers’ former player and manager), Arsenal were a developing and improving top flight outfit but it was to be more than a year before Bowen made his league debut for the first team. A match against Bury in May 1927 was to prove his only top-flight appearance – quite surprising given his exploits for the reserves. Languishing amongst the second string for two years, he banged in an impressive 56 goals across 61 appearances in the London Combination, along with a further 21 goals in 11 friendly matches. 

Failing to break into the first team and at the suggestion of Chapman, Bowen’s exploits were closely followed by Northampton Town, who he joined for a fee of £750 in February 1928. At the County Ground he immediately achieved cult status, notably on the back of a debut hat-trick, during a 4-3 away match win at Norwich City. In the remaining months of the season, he was to score 15 times, as Northampton finished runners up in the Third Division South.

Things were looking up for the Cobblers and Bowen and he didn’t disappoint. The goal machine went crazy, reaching prolific levels – 34 goals in 1928-29, 28 strikes in 1929-30, with a similar tally banged home during 1930-31, as Northampton went close to promotion over successive seasons. Top scorer for the club in the process, Bowen could not do it all on his own and it was only a matter of time before other clubs would come calling for his services.

The 1930-31 campaign had seen the Cobblers slip to 6th position, their lowest placing in the four seasons that Bowen had been with the club. However, it was a season in which Bowen grabbed two hat-tricks before the end of the year – the first away to Brentford at the start of September and then an early Christmas present at home to Swindon in December. Yet he was still there at the start of the 1931-32 season when the slide down the table continued. By the following February, Bowen had a decent return of 15 goals to his name, when he fell out of favour. Playing just two further games before the season’s end, he failed to bulge the net with boot and ball.

During his time at Northampton, Bowen demonstrated a broad sporting pedigree and also played cricket in the summer months. The Mexborough and Swinton Times observed that his father had been prominent in Featherstone cricket circles for a number of years and his son was “a fast bowler of outstanding merit”. At the end of his first season with Northampton, several cricket clubs had pursued his services but were rebuffed as he chose to rest and fully heal a footballing injury. However, over the following two summers he was turning out for local side Clarence in the Town League. Reports in the local papers suggest that he was a decent all-rounder and equally accomplished with both bat and ball.

Bowen was also at the centre of a number of humorous episodes, the first of which took place in the summer of 1929, when he was invited to referee an absurd football match for Eaglehurst College on the occasion of their Annual Sports Day. The two teams were required to play with upper bodies restrained in sacks … sounds like harmless fun.

However, two later incidents sound as if they might have sprung from the humorous imagination of Jerome K. Jerome. The first occurred in November 1930 when Bowen was waiting in Abington for a bus, to take him to Castle Station and an away fixture with Notts County. With his kit and boots in a holdall, he sat in wait for a team mate but somehow the bag simply disappeared, barely out of his sight for more than a few seconds. A sprint to the County Ground was needed and a hunt for uncertain replacement gear. Later in the day, as the Cobblers fought out a draw at Meadow Lane, a woman arrived at the County Ground, stating that she had found the bag abandoned by a bus stop and had taken it into her possession for safekeeping,

A year later and Bowen found himself at the centre of even stranger story. Like Mark Twain before, he might have proclaimed … “the rumour of my death has been greatly exaggerated.” Yet somehow before training had commenced one autumnal Monday morning, the town was awash with rumours of his untimely death. Indeed, the talk was of a dreadful tragedy that had unfolded the night before on the Holcot Road, in which Bowen and fellow player Allon, had been killed in an appalling car crash. Like a terrible version of Chinese Whispers, the story worsened as descriptions of mangled wreckage were added to each retelling. Soon, a third colleague joined the growing list of the dead – left-winger Wells succumbed to his injuries before Scott, in his only season with the club, became a fourth victim.

As players mustered for morning training, news of the tragedy had reached the club. Surely it wasn’t true but the named players weren’t amongst the early arrivals and the dressing room was awash with rumour and worry. An outrider was dispatched in the direction of Bowen’s nearby home, just off the Wellingborough Road and soon reported back that he found him there, hale and hearty and enjoying a fine breakfast. Then suddenly Wells arrived and was greeted with a little cheer. When Bowen and Scott turned up together just before the 10am deadline, a great shout, laughter and much applause arose. During the short walk from home to ground, Bowen had become increasingly bemused by the cryptic comments, hurled in his direction by the passing public, including a shout of “I thought you were in the mortuary!” As Bowen later told a Mercury & Herald reporter, “It was far too good a morning to be dead.”

But was Bowen slowing up at the age of 29 … surely not?  Bristol City certainly doubted that his prowess was on the wane and desperate for a decent striker, they acquired his services during the 1932-33 close season. The only surprise is that when he moved on, he continued to ply his trade in the lower levels of the Football League. At that time both Bristol sides, City and Rovers, were regular Third Division South opponents for the Cobblers and Bowen’s goal scoring powers returned, refreshed for the new challenge. In that first season, he netted 32 times in 42 matches for Bristol City, including two more career hat-tricks.

Despite finishing as the club’s top scorer, Bristol City finished well below the Cobblers in the league. Bowen faced the Cobblers in Robins’ colours in both games, and scored Bristol’s only goal in a 2-1 defeat at the County Ground. The return at Ashton Gate was a thrilling affair and although the Cobblers lost 5-4, they managed to shut out their former talisman. But City’s slump continued in 1933-34, with Bowen scoring just 5 times in 19 games, including another in the home game against the Cobblers. Suggestions that his goals were drying up did not impress upon City and earlier in the season an offer of £1000 for his services from local rivals Rovers, was firmly rejected.

Towards the end of the 1933-34 season, Bowen was consigned to the reserves and as April drew to a close, the Western Daily Press reported that he had been placed on the transfer list. No offers arrived and he was still with the club when the new season began. Unfortunately, in mid-September he sustained a serious knee injury playing for the reserves against Portsmouth and a cartilage operation followed. This was the last report that I was able to unearth and it indicated that he was under orders to rest up for two months and was back in his native Yorkshire. Fears for his career were voiced!

It’s here that the trail runs cold but is it where the story ends? Did Ted Bowen’s professional career come to a close at the age of 31? Attempts at tracking down his further activities have stalled and I have been unable to discover if retirement was forced upon him. Perhaps he simply dropped down into non-league football or took on a managerial role? As to his whereabouts in later years … nothing.

Direct comparisons would be fatuous but like Walter Tull before him, Ted Bowen played in an era which is now largely consigned to the history books and archives. Until recent times, Tull was also a forgotten man, whose life and legacy was rightly reappraised and resurrected to national attention. Many of those who played the game before WW11, are now largely forgotten or overlooked and there are no longer supporters around from that era, who can share an anecdote or memory. Yet for some players this should not be so and surely Ted Bowen is a case in point – he doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page! Bowen’s goal scoring achievements for the Cobblers were mightily impressive and hopefully this potted biography of the club’s second highest ever goal scoring hero, represents a deserved and timely reappraisal.

Other articles from Peter Stevenson, don’t forget to check them out.

Thank you to Guest writer Peter Stevenson for that very interesting article.