James Cowan was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 footballer and manager

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

.

Born in Jamestown

Jamestown, West Dunbartonshire

Jamestown is a village in the Vale of Leven conurbation in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland.Located on the east bank of the River Leven, it is sandwiched between Balloch to the north and Bonhill to the south....

, Dunbartonshire

Dunbartonshire

Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Until 1975 it was a county used as a primary unit of local government with its county town and administrative centre at the town...

, Cowan was a Scottish international

Scotland national football team

The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...

 half-back who played with local sides Renton

Renton F.C.

Renton Football Club was a prominent team in the early history of Scottish football. The club was based in the village of Renton, West Dunbartonshire...

 and Vale of Leven

Vale of Leven F.C.

Vale of Leven Football Club are an association club based in the town of Alexandria, Scotland, in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire. Nicknamed the Vale and formed in 1939, they play at Millburn Park...

 before moving to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1888 to play for the Warwickshire County FC. The following season he wished to pursue a professional career and joined Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 and spent 14 years with the Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 side. When Cowan played for the club in the 1890's and early 1900's, they were the giants of the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

. While at Villa, he won five First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 titles and two FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 winners medals. In all he played 354 times for Aston Villa and is considered to be one of the finest players of the Victorian era. He was renowned for his speed. One one occasion he missed a Villa match due to his attending (and winning) the illustrious 100 yard "New Year Sprint" event held at Powderhall

Powderhall

Powderhall is an area in the north of Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. It is mainly centred around Broughton Road. Until recently it was best known for its greyhound racing track, which has now closed. The site has been redeveloped for housing and business purposes...

. The club fined him but he still made a healthy profit due to the prize money!

After retiring from playing in 1902, he coached the young players at Villa for a few years before deciding to accept the role of manager of Queens Park Rangers in 1907. QPR had just moved to a new ground designed By Archibald Leitch at Park Royal and Cowan was the club's first official manager. In his initial season he led them to the Southern League

Southern Football League

The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...

 title and held Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 to a fine 1-1 draw in the Charity Shield

FA Community Shield

The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...

.

Four years later he led QPR to another Southern League title. Off-the-field problems however prevented him from leading the club into the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

. Prior to the start of the 1913/14 season he offered his resignation on the grounds of ill health which the directors accepted. He returned to Scotland where he died in his sleep in December 1918.