Isaac Owens

Isaac Owens (1881–1916), often referred to as Ike or Ikey Owens, was an English footballer who played as an inside left or centre forward in the Football League for Woolwich Arsenal and Grimsby Town. He also played non-league football for Darlington (in three separate spells), Bishop Auckland, Crook Town, Plymouth Argyle, Bristol Rovers and Crystal Palace.[1]

This article is about the English footballer. For the Welsh rugby league player, see Ike Owens.

Isaac Owens
Personal information
Full name Isaac Owens[1]
Date of birth 1881
Place of birth Howden-le-Wear, England
Date of death 1916 (aged 35)
Place of death Devonport, England
Height 5 ft 10 1⁄2 in (1.79 m)[2]
Position(s) Inside left, centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
– Darlington
1???–1901 Bishop Auckland
1901 Crook Town
1901–1902 Woolwich Arsenal[lower-alpha 1] 9 (2)
1903–1904 Darlington
1904–1906 Plymouth Argyle[lower-alpha 1] 25 (4)
1906–1907 Bristol Rovers[lower-alpha 1] 17 (6)
1907–1908 Crystal Palace[lower-alpha 1] 22 (8)
1908–1909 Grimsby Town 6 (3)
1909–19?? Darlington (15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and career

Owens was born in Howden-le-Wear, County Durham, in 1881.[3] He began his football career with Darlington of the Northern League, and then joined Bishop Auckland.[1] He contributed to Bishops winning the 1900–01 Northern League title, and played for them in the first Champions versus Rest of the League fixture,[4] before moving on to another Northern League team, FA Amateur Cup-holders Crook Town. His stay there was brief: in October 1901 he signed for Football League Second Division club Woolwich Arsenal.[4][5]

Owens made his debut in the Football League away to Gainsborough Trinity on 12 October; playing at inside left, he scored one of the goals in a 2–2 draw.[5][6] He was not selected for the next match, but returned to the side for the one after, in the London League, and retained the inside-left position for twelve competitive matches, scoring once more, in a 2–0 win at home to Newton Heath.[6] He also scored on his last senior Arsenal appearance, playing at outside left in a London League match against Queens Park Rangers.[6] When not required for first-team matches, Owens contributed to Arsenal's junior teams winning the London League Reserve Championship and West Kent League titles.[2]

Owens returned to Darlington, playing for them in the Northern League[7] and 1903–04 FA Cup – he contributed the winner against Shildon in the preliminary round replay and two goals in a 5–2 defeat of Bishop Auckland in the second qualifying round[8] – and then, in May 1904, he signed for Plymouth Argyle of the Southern League.[9]

His first appearance for Argyle came on 12 October in a Western League match at home to Queens Park Rangers. He played his first Southern League match some six weeks later, and scored his first goals on 10 December, contributing both Argyle goals in a 2–2 draw at home to Northampton Town in the Southern League.[9] Assessing his performance in a friendly match against First Division club West Bromwich Albion, the Daily Express reporter described him as "essentially a trier, by no means lacking in dash or the finer points of the game."[10] In the 1904–05 season, Owens was used as backup to centre-forward Jasper McLuckie,[11] and finished the season with four goals from 13 league appearances.[9] With the arrival of Harry Wilcox ahead of the 1905–06 season, Owens' chances of first-team football appeared limited, but he had a run in the team when Wilcox was used at centre half, and ended up making 28 appearances from which he scored seven goals.[9][12]

In 1906, Owens signed for another Southern League club, Bristol Rovers; he had played against them several times – and scored against them – for Plymouth Argyle.[13] He returned the favour in January 1907, with the first goal of a 2–0 win against Argyle,[14] but was unable to establish himself as a first-team regular, and finished the season with six goals from 17 Southern League appearances.[9] He spent the 1907–08 season with Crystal Palace, for whom he appeared at half back as well as in the forward line.[15] He scored eight goals from 22 Southern League matches,[9][16] and then returned to the Football League with Grimsby Town. Despite scoring on his debut, against Stockport County on the opening day of the season,[17] and adding two more goals from just five more Second Division matches,[1] he was rated "disappointing and lacking pace",[17] and by February 1909 he was back at Darlington. He scored 15 goals between then and the end of the season, including a run of at least one goal in each of the eight North-Eastern League matches in February and March, and scored in the 1909–10 FA Cup in a 2–0 defeat of Horden Athletic.[18]

Owens died in Devonport, Devon, in 1916 at the age of 35.[3][19]

Notes
  1. For consistency, the infobox statistics for Woolwich Arsenal, Plymouth Argyle, Bristol Rovers and Crystal Palace only include appearances and goals in each club's main league – the Football League for Woolwich Arsenal and the Southern League for the other three – so appearances and goals in the London League, Western League, or any other secondary league competition are excluded.

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  2. Ollier, Fred (1995). Arsenal: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-85983-011-6.
  3. Isaac Owens at the English National Football Archive (subscription required) Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  4. Hunt, Brian (1989). Northern Goalfields. Official Centenary History of the Northern League 1889–1989. Skol Northern League Management Committee. p. 48. ISBN 0-9514597-1-6.
  5. "Isaac Owens". Arsenal F.C. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  6. "Arsenal first team line-ups 1901–02". The Arsenal History. Andy Kelly. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  7. Hunt, Brian. Northern Goalfields. Official Centenary History of the Northern League 1889–1989. p. 58.
  8. Tweddle, Frank (2000). The Definitive Darlington F.C. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-899468-15-7.
  9. "Isaac Owens". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  10. ""Dandy's" friendly. West Bromwich Albion's narrow defeat". Daily Express. London. 14 November 1904. p. 6.
  11. "Season 1904–1905". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  12. "Season 1905–1906". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  13. Byrne, Stephen & Jay, Mike (2014). Bristol Rovers FC: The Official Definitive History. Stroud: Amberley. pp. 55–56. ISBN 9781445636474.
  14. "Bristol R. 2, Plymouth A. 0". Daily Express. London. 21 January 1907. p. 6.
  15. "Northampton boom. Crystal Palace trounced in first match". Daily Express. London. 5 September 1907. p. 6. Brearley and Owens were very good at half.
  16. "Isaac Owens". holmesdale.net. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  17. Briggs, Rob & Wherry, Dave (2007). Mariner Men: Grimsby Town Who's Who 1892–2007. Uxbridge: Yore Publications. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-9552949-8-3.
  18. Tweddle. Definitive Darlington. pp. 15, 18.
  19. "Isaac Owens". England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837–2007. Retrieved 11 February 2017 – via FamilySearch.org.
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