Jackie Bowen - Second row
Wales RLHeritage No | 186 |
Date Of Birth | 02/04/1915 |
Place Of Birth | Llanelli |
Clubs | Wigan Warriors |
Regions | Scarlets |
Honours | Wales RL |
Benjamin John Bowen played first-class rugby for Llanelli, and was on the brink of winning his first cap for the Welsh union team when he switched to league. He was a trialist in 1938 and managed to play in front of the selectors on the side of the 'Probables', but on leaving the field he was approached by officials from Wigan. The club offered him a ten-year contract and when Bowen accepted he severed his links from the union code by becoming professional. A Lancashire Cup winner in 1938 in his first season with the club, he continued to play for them during World War II in addition to his service in the Armed Forces. A Championship winner with Wigan in 1944, he eventually played 147 times for the club before a season with Leigh. He settled in Wigan, becoming a publican in the city, and was the first ever landlord of The Wellfield Hotel. He died on february 26 2009 aged 93 in Wigan.
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