| 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 ft10+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[a] | 9 | (2) |
| 1903–1904 | Darlington | ||
| 1904–1906 | Plymouth Argyle[a] | 25 | (4) |
| 1906–1907 | Bristol Rovers[a] | 17 | (6) |
| 1907–1908 | Crystal Palace[a] | 22 | (8) |
| 1908–1909 | Grimsby Town | 6 | (3) |
| 1909–19?? | Darlington | (15) | |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Isaac Owens (1881–1916) was an Englishfootballer who played as aninside left orcentre forward inthe Football League forWoolwich Arsenal andGrimsby Town. He also playednon-league football forDarlington (in three separate spells),Bishop Auckland,Crook Town,Plymouth Argyle,Bristol Rovers andCrystal Palace.[1]
Owens was born inHowden-le-Wear,County Durham, in 1881.[3] He began his football career withDarlington of theNorthern League and then joinedBishop Auckland.[1] He contributed to Bishops winning the1900–01 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-holdersCrook Town. His stay there was brief: in October 1901 he signed forFootball League Second Division clubWoolwich Arsenal.[4][5]
Owens made his debut inthe Football League away toGainsborough Trinity on 12 October; playing atinside 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 theLondon League, and retained the inside-left position for twelve competitive matches, scoring once more, in a 2–0 win at home toNewton Heath.[6] He also scored on his last senior Arsenal appearance, playing atoutside left in a London League match againstQueens 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] and1903–04 FA Cup – he contributed the winner againstShildon in the preliminary roundreplay and two goals in a 5–2 defeat of Bishop Auckland in the second qualifying round[8] – and then, in May 1904, he signed forPlymouth Argyle of theSouthern League.[9]
His first appearance for Argyle came on 12 October in aWestern 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 toNorthampton Town in the Southern League.[9] Assessing his performance in afriendly match against First Division clubWest Bromwich Albion, theDaily 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-forwardJasper McLuckie,[11] and finished the season with four goals from 13 league appearances.[9] With the arrival ofHarry 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 atcentre 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 the1907–08 season withCrystal Palace, for whom he appeared athalf 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 withGrimsby Town. Despite scoring on his debut, againstStockport 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 eightNorth-Eastern League matches in February and March, and scored in the 1909–10 FA Cup in a 2–0 defeat ofHorden Athletic.[18]
Owens died inDevonport, Devon, in 1916 at the age of 35.[3][19]
Brearley and Owens were very good at half.