AN OVERSEAS FOOTBALLER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3801, 18 January 1927, Page 75

AN OVERSEAS FOOTBALLER.

ENGLISH LEAGUE REPRESENTATIVE. For 12 months Mr “Jimmy” Owen, who not long ago was one of Englands most popular League footballers, has been residing in Dunedin, and it probably would not be known yet that he ever donned a football jersey had he not been “discovered” by a former schoolmaster six months ago. At Mr Owen’s request the knowledge that ho played centre threequarter for England on eight or nine occasions was retained by the few who came to know of it on that occasion, and even now there are few who are aware ol the fact.

When a pupil of the Cowley School, in St. Helens, England. Mr Owen played Rugby Union football, and from school he went to the war. On his return to England he decided to become a professional footballer, and joined the St. Helens Rec.’s Club, one of the clubs which decisively beat the All Black League team now on tour "in England. In the athletic world he made great strides, and on several occasions was captain of his team. He represented Lancashire, and during 1920 and 1921 he was a member of the English League team. In the 1922-23 season he received a knee injury as a result of which be was* confined to hospital for seven months. Had it not been for this misfortune he would have been a member of the English League team which toured New Zealand in 1923. Mr Owen played in the three tests against the Australian League team which visited England. As his injury prevented him from taking any further part in football, Mr Owens, to use an expression of his own, became a “free lance” and visited Canada and South Africa before he came to New Zealand. In Dunedin he has confined his recreation to golf and cricket. He is uncertain whether he will remain here for long. . . , Mr Owen, in conversation with our representative said that New Zealanders had no idea of the playing strength of the League clubs at Home, and it came as no surprise to. him to hear that the New Zealand team /had suffered a number of reverses. In the circumstances he thought the touring team had done fairly well. League, he said, was the finest game in the world if played properly. When asked his opinion of New Zealand, Mr Owen said he thought it the finest of the colonies. Dunedin was the best place he had ever lived in. “And,” he added, “I’ve lived in a few.”