Robert Cowell (5 December 1922 – 11 January 1996) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

. During his football career he only played for one club,

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. 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 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

meant all the football leagues in England were suspended. He made 81 appearances for Newcastle. He made his

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

debut on 1 February 1947 in a match against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

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 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. 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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

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 Uni ...

when Newcastle beat Blackpool 2–0 and the following year he was part of the team that surprised

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and the first team to retain the cup since 1891. He won his third FA Cup title in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

Retirement and death

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 an English football player principally associated with Newcastle United and England, though he also spent four seasons at Linfield. He was also known as Wor Jackie (par ...

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

Career statistics

Honours

Newcastle United *

: 1950–51 1951–52, 1954–55

References

External links

Spartacus entry
'

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowell, Bob Cowell 1922 births 1996 deaths English men's footballers English Football League players Men's association football fullbacks Newcastle United F.C. players English miners People from Trimdon Footballers from County Durham Blackhall Colliery Welfare F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen