Kenneth "Ken" David Bowman (6 March 1937 – 10 October 2013) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Huddersfield and Bradford Northern, as a wing, or second-row, he died from cancer in The Wirral.
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Kenneth David Bowman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 March 1937 Great Ouseburn, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 10 October 2013 (aged 76) Bromborough, Cheshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 1 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
editBowman was born in Great Ouseburn, Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, and attended Fishergate Primary School. He began playing rugby league at school and for Heworth before turning professional in April 1955, aged 17, to sign for Huddersfield.[2]
Playing career
editInternational honours
editKen Bowman won caps for Great Britain while at Huddersfield in 1962 against France, and in 1963 against France, and Australia.[1]
Challenge Cup Final appearances
editKen Bowman played at second-row in Huddersfield's 6-12 defeat by Wakefield Trinity in the 1961–62 Challenge Cup Final during the 1961–62 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 12 May 1962, in front of a crowd of 81,263.[3]
County Cup Final appearances
editKen Bowman played at second-row and scored a try in Huddersfield's 15-8 victory over York in the 1957–58 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1957–58 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 19 October 1957,[4] and played at second-row in the 10-16 defeat by Wakefield Trinity in the 1960–61 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1960–61 season at Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 29 October 1960.
Testimonial match
editKen Bowman's Testimonial match at Huddersfield took place in 1965. He made 247 appearances for the club before transferring to Bradford Northern in September 1965.[5]
Personal life
editBowman married his wife, Beryl, in 1957, with whom he had two sons, Chris and Paul.[2] He was a salesman and later a sales manager at Leyland Paints, later named Kalon Group PLC, he moved to the Wirral in 1977, he retired from work in 2002. He was captain of Bromborough Golf Club, a regular church goer. Ken was an active Freemason and a member of Noctorum Lodge 5913. He died aged 76 in Bromborough, Cheshire, England.
References
edit- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Ken Bowman Fartown and GB rugby league star". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
- ^ Briggs, Cyril & Edwards, Barry (12 May 1962). The Rugby League Challenge Cup Competition - Final Tie - Huddersfield v Wakefield Trinity - Match Programme. Wembley Stadium Ltd. ISBN n/a
- ^ "Programme 'Yorkshire County Rugby League - Challenge Cup Final - 1957 - Huddersfield v. York'" (PDF). huddersfieldrlheritage.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Gronow, David (2008). 100 Greats: Huddersfield Rugby League Football Club. Stroud: Stadia. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7524-4584-7.