Jack Cowan

John Lawrence Cowan... soccer family (brother Terry)... his father Reuben was born in Montréal while his mother Ellen was born in Blackburn, ENG... he was married to wife Margaret (they had two daughters)... he was 73 years old when he passed away on 10 December 2000... he was an engineering student at the University of British Columbia... became an Electrical Engineer with BC Hydro...

honoured by the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame as a player (one of the first 11 former players honoured as part of The Soccer Hall of Fame’s inaugural Class of 2000)... honoured by the BC Sports Hall of Fame and posthumously honoured by the Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia, the University of British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Dundee FC Hall of Fame... in 1950, he was one of 16 footballers shortlisted in a Best in 50 Years poll by The Canadian Press... as part of Canada Soccer’s Centennial in 2012, recognised in the Best XI from 50 Years (1912-1962)...

was part of the All Canada side selected to face touring side Lokomotiv Moscow in 1956... was part of British Columbia and Vancouver all-star teams selected to face international touring teams from 1949 to 1956...

with Vancouver Hale-Co FC, a Canada Soccer Football Championship winner (Carling’s Red Cap Trophy and Challenge Trophy in 1956)... with Dundee FC, a Scottish League Cup winner (1951, 1952)... in Canada, an all-star selection both before (1949) and after (1955, 1956) his career in Scotland (including an All Canada selection in 1956)...

explained Cowan in 1975, “well, my initial six months there (at Dundee FC) were not very bright, first an injury during training side lined me for five weeks. Then my first few games in the reserve team were not too successful, but fortunately the General Manager saw some potential in my abilities. Finally, late in 1949, I was placed in the first team and played for several games”... wrote Jimmy Lay in January 1952, “Cowan’s (first) goal was a gem. He went right through the Stirling Albion defence to gain his marker”... also wrote Cowan in 1975, “in 1954, I decided to return to Vancouver, but Dundee FC offered me a 500 pound bonus to say and had plans to make me captain of the team and play for many more years in the first team, but my strong desire to return to my hometown and start my engineering career overruled the offer to stay and I returned to BC”... also wrote Cowan in 1975, “I was selected to go to Mexico with the 1957 Canadian team, but due to my engineering position and family reasons, I declined and decided to retire from soccer at the age of 29”...

said Dave Fryatt in 2000, “Jack was one of the top left fullbacks Canada has ever produced; I was always impressed with the tough but gentlemanly manner in which he played the game; in my mind, we’ve never had a better left fullback in Canadian soccer”... wrote Jeff Cross in 2000, “he was a very sturdy and dependable type of player”...