ONE OF A KIND - 1970S FOOTIE LEGEND STAN BOWLES - 1948-2024

26 Feb 2024 - Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

BY PAUL BYRNE 

Paul.byrne@mirror.co.uk @Paulbyrnemirror

Seventies sporting maverick who was touched by genius

"He was a delightful footballer & a hugely charismatic man" 

   - GARY LINEKER SINGS PRAISES OF STAR STAN

While tens of thousands of football fans were buzzing with excitement at the prospect of seeing more of Stan Bowles’ brilliance, the man himself seemed much less focused on the match.

His warm-up often consisted of hastily getting to the ground from a betting shop, where he would frequently be seen 20 minutes before kick-off.

At other times, he wouldn’t even have his kit on with just 10 minutes to go before the game started, choosing instead to be reading a paper.

But when he did get on the pitch, he graced it like few others ever have.

Stan, who has died aged 75, was one of the great entertainers of a generation.

The maverick was a supremely gifted player who helped to define an era.

Former England striker Gary Lineker said: “He was a delightful footballer and a hugely charismatic man. I always loved watching him play.”

Ex-scotland striker Ally Mccoist said: “He was an absolutely terrific football player. One of the old school guys like Tony Currie and Frank Worthington. Those are the guys that entertained.”

George Best was the sport’s first superstar but by the early 1970s his glory days were over. And into the spotlight stepped Stan, alongside other captivating players who set the pulses racing like Currie, Worthington, Rodney Marsh and Alan Hudson.

At a time when the game’s top brass in Britain had an aversion to flair, Stan – an attacking midfielder or forward – won the hearts of millions of football fans, but only won five England caps.

He was born in 1948 just before midnight on Christmas Eve in a prefab in Collyhurst, Manchester.

His dad, who was a window cleaner, used to tell him: “If you’d left it another five minutes you could have been Jesus.”

Stan briefly went to a Cofe primary school before attending a Catholic junior school, where he was so much better at football than the other pupils he was made to play in goal to ensure matches were evenly balanced.

At his secondary modern school during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, he was told by his headteacher: “Look, Stanley, if nothing happens I think you’ll make it as a footballer.”

The prediction was spot on, but he had to wait. Stan’s first job after he left school was at a raincoat factory.

He was paid £10 a week to work the press but left after three weeks, complaining it was too hot.

He then joined his dad’s window cleaning rounds, before he signed for Manchester City as an apprentice at the age of 17. He scored twice on his firstteam debut in 1967 aged 18.

But things didn’t always go so smoothly on or off the pitch.

When he married Ann Kyte in 1968, his dad paid for the marriage licence because Stan had gambled away that week’s wages. Stan also fell out with City coach Malcolm Allison and briefly played for Bury before signing for Fourth Division side Crewe Alexandra in 1970.

His boss at Crewe, Ernie Tagg, once said: “If Stan could pass a betting shop like he can pass a football, he’d be a rich man.”

After a stint at Carlisle, Stan joined Queens Park Rangers in 1972. His dazzling performances made him a hero. A stand at the ground, Loftus Road, was named in his honour in 2022. He was part of the team that was narrowly pipped to the First Division title by Liverpool in 1976. Stan the Man made 315 appearances for QPR, scoring 97 goals over seven seasons.

In his prime he was pictured with TV stars and pop singers. He said a picture of him in 1976 with model

Jenny Clarke when she was topless “got me in a lot of bother with my wife at the time”.

Off the pitch it seemed he was most at home in the bookies or the pub.

When it was said he spent all his money on gambling, booze and women, Stan responded: “Well, at least I didn’t waste it.”

He also said: “People may think of me as a footballer who gambled too much. But I’m a gambling addict who happened to be a good footballer.” When he appeared on BBC TV show Superstars in 1976, he was so hungover after a night out with racing driver James Hunt, Stan recorded the lowest score in the programme’s history.

After leaving QPR in 1979, he had spells at Nottingham Forest, Orient and Brentford. Brentford team-mate Danis Salman said: “I was hyper before games and Stan would tell me to slow down. He’d be sat in the dressing room, not even changed, with 10 minutes to go. He’d have his legs crossed, with a cup of tea, reading Sporting Life.”

After retiring in 1984, Stan became an after-dinner speaker and a pundit.

He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s nine years ago and moved into a care home in Manchester in 2020.

He is survived by his wife, Diane Bushell, and his kids, Andria, Carl and Tracy, from his marriage to Ann.

After his death, QPR said: “Stanley Bowles is one of the greatest players to ever pull on the famous blue and white hoops. Many would argue that he is the best.”

Brentford said he “put smiles on the faces of all who saw him play”. EX-QPR star Trevor Sinclair said: “Really sad to hear the great entertainer has passed away.

“I know he’d been unwell for some time but I’d rather remember the times he took me under his wing and down the West End in the early 90s.”