Jimmy Cowan (footballer)

James Clews Cowan (16 June 1926 – 20 June 1968) was a Scottish football goalkeeper who played for St Mirren, Morton, Sunderland, Third Lanark and the Scotland national team.

Jimmy Cowan
Personal information
Full name James Clews Cowan[1]
Date of birth (1926-06-16)16 June 1926
Place of birth Paisley, Scotland
Date of death 20 June 1968(1968-06-20) (aged 42)
Place of death Greenock, Scotland
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–1944 St Mirren
1944–1953 Morton 141 (0)
1953–1955 Sunderland 28 (0)
1955–1956 Third Lanark 6 (0)
International career
1948–1951 Scotland 25 (0)
1949–1953 Scottish League XI[2] 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Cowan was born in Paisley and began his professional career with St Mirren before moving to Morton in 1944. He remained at Cappielow for nine years, playing in the 1948 Scottish Cup Final defeat to Rangers. During his time at Morton he won all of his 25 Scotland caps, making his debut against Belgium in April 1948. He played in the 1949 and 1951 wins against England at Wembley, results which ultimately won Scotland the 1948–49 and 1950-51 British Home Championships.

During his time at Morton, the club were twice relegated from the First Division (1948–49 and 1951–52). After the club failed to win promotion in 1952–53, Cowan was transferred to English club Sunderland in June 1953. He returned to Scotland two years later with Third Lanark and played for a season at Cathkin Park before retiring.

On 11 November 2007, Cowan was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.[3]

Personal life

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His son Ronnie Cowan is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician,[4] who was elected at the 2015 UK general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverclyde.[5]

Career statistics

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International appearances

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Scotland national team[6]
Year Apps Goals
1948 4 0
1949 4 0
1950 7 0
1951 7 0
1952 3 0
Total 25 0

References

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  1. ^ "Jimmy Cowan". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Jimmy Cowan". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  3. ^ "Jimmy Cowan honoured". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 November 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Ronnie Cowan MP". Scottish National Party (SNP). Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  5. ^ Cowan, Ronnie. "Inverclyde Parliamentary Constituency". BBC Web. BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  6. ^ Jimmy Cowan at the Scottish Football Association
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  • Jimmy Cowan at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database