R.I.P. Stan, thanks for the memories, as others have said you were the main reason I spent so many Saturdays standing on the terraces at HQ wanting to be you.
Stan was and always will be the spirit of our beloved Queens Park Rangers! A very sad day! Good night and God bless you Stanley Bowles Rest in peace!
Stan bowles: The maverick who lit up Loftus Road Bowles was adored by fans of QPR and Brentford. Andy Sims 1 hour ago please log in to view this image Stan Bowles has died at the age of 75 (PA) (PA Archive) Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter[/paste:font] SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Stanley Bowles raised his arms into the air and took the acclaim of the Loftus Road crowd. It was a familiar sight throughout the 1970s, but this was August 2015 and was to be the last time Bowles graced the pitch he once ruled. Bowles, the former QPR, Brentford and England inside-forward, has died aged 75 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He looked in good physical shape as he was presented to the crowd on ‘Stan Bowles Day’, QPR’s home fixture against Rotherham, but his condition had already taken its toll. Nevertheless Don Shanks, Bowles’ best friend and former Rangers team-mate who accompanied him out on to the pitch, told the Guardian: “When Stan walked out at Loftus Road he knew exactly where he was, for some reason. A moment of knowing who he was.” The epitome of the 1970’s football maverick, there was a time when pretty much everyone knew who Bowles was. If Stan could pass a betting shop like he can pass a football, he’d be a rich man. Stan Bowles' manager at Crewe, Ernie Tagg Born in Collyhurst, Manchester, on Christmas Eve 1948, Bowles began his career as an apprentice at Manchester City. A brief stint at Bury followed before Bowles joined Fourth Division Crewe, whose manager Ernie Tagg came up with the immortal line: “If Stan could pass a betting shop like he can pass a football, he’d be a rich man.” Without the benefit of hindsight, it would go on to sum up an entire career. Bowles moved up two divisions to join Carlise and then, in September 1972, signed for QPR for a fee of £110,000. Over the next seven years, Bowles made 315 league appearances for Rangers and scored 97 goals. Yet those figures barely scratch the surface of Bowles’ talent – think Lionel Messi playing with a cigarette in one hand, a lager top in the other and a copy of the Racing Post sticking out of his back pocket. A snake-hipped bag of bones, often wearing a kit that seemed to look two sizes too big, Bowles jinked, feinted, dribbled and darted past the poor, unsuspecting full-backs of the day. A trademark goal would see Bowles drop his shoulder, cut inside on to his right foot and effortlessly accelerate, leaving a right-back floundering in a blur of quick feet and long hair, before driving the ball in at the near post. The trouble was – as Tagg alluded to – that Bowles knew his way around the watering holes and betting shops around Loftus Road almost as well as he knew his way around the pitch. So naturally talented was Bowles that he felt he did not have to try, an attitude which ultimately limited him to only five England caps, his one international goal coming against Wales at Ninian Park in 1974. In 1979, a move to Nottingham Forest and a relationship made in hell with Brian Clough was predictably unsuccessful and a year later Bowles joined Second Division Leyton Orient. He wound down his playing career back in west London with Brentford, enjoying an Indian summer which saw him named the club’s player of the year in 1982. Bowles is fondly remembered for his time at Griffin Park and in a recent poll was voted the best player in their history by fans of both QPR and Brentford. Less auspicious was an appearance on TV’s Superstars, where athletes competed against each other at different sports. A hungover Bowles scored seven points, the lowest in the show’s history. A chaotic lifestyle was characterised by Bowles agreeing sponsorship deals with two different boot companies for the same match and wearing one of each. Upon his retirement, in 1984, Bowles moved into after-dinner speaking, worked as a pundit for Sky Sports and had his own betting column. His 1996 autobiography revealed the extent of his drinking, womanising and gambling during his playing days. In his later years, Bowles could be spotted flitting between the pubs and the bookies of Shepherd’s Bush, now without the inconvenience of having to fit a football match in between. Upon being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Bowles moved back to Manchester to be cared for by his eldest daughter, Andria. He is survived by Andria, his second daughter, Tracy, and son Carl. 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Soon afterwards the family moved to Latrobe. Teddy was educated at the local Catholic school. Five foot 8½ inches (174cm) tall and well built, he took casual work on farms between Latrobe and Merseylea. In Hobart on 21 April 1941 he enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman, following in the steps of five of his brothers who had joined the armed forces (four of them were in the Army and one in the Navy). On completing his initial training, he was sent to Flinders Naval Depot, Westernport, Victoria, in February 1942 for further instruction. In May Sheean was posted to Sydney where he was billeted at Garden Island in the requisitioned ferry Kuttabul, prior to joining his first ship as an Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun loader. Granted home leave, he was not on board Kuttabul when Japanese midget submarines raided the harbour and sank her on 31 May. Eleven days later he returned to Sydney to help commission the new corvette HMAS Armidale (I), which carried out escort duties along the eastern Australian coast and in New Guinea waters. Ordered to sail for Darwin in October, Armidale arrived there early next month. On 29 November Armidale sailed for Japanese-occupied Timor, in company with the corvette HMAS Castlemaine, to withdraw the exhausted Australian 2/2 Independent Company, evacuate about 150 Portuguese civilians and 190 Dutch troops, and land soldiers to reinforce Dutch guerrillas on the island. Arriving off Betano before dawn on 1 December, the ships rendezvoused with the naval tender HMAS Kuru, which had already taken the civilians on board. When these people were transferred to Castlemaine, she sailed for Darwin, leaving the other two vessels to carry out the rest of the operation. From 12:28 Armidale and Kuru came under repeated attack from Japanese aircraft. Despite requests, no air cover was received. Shortly before 14:00 on 1 December 1942, Armidale, by then separated from Kuru, was attacked by no less than thirteen aircraft. The corvette manoeuvred frantically. At 15:15 a torpedo struck her port side and another hit the engineering spaces; finally a bomb struck aft. As the vessel listed heavily to port, the order was given to abandon ship. The survivors leapt into the sea and were machine-gunned by the Japanese aircraft. Once he had helped to free a life raft, Sheean scrambled back to his gun on the sinking ship. Although wounded in the chest and back, the 18-year-old sailor shot down one bomber and kept other aircraft away from his comrades in the water. He was seen still firing his gun as Armidale slipped below the waves. Only 49 of the 149 men who had been on board survived the sinking and the ensuing days in life rafts. Sheean was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery and in 1999 HMAS Sheean, a Collins Class submarine, was named after him - the only ship in the RAN to bear the name of a junior sailor. In 2020, following a sustained public campaign to have Ordinary Seaman Sheean’s selfless actions appropriately recognised, an expert panel recommended to the Australian Government that he be considered for the the award of a Victoria Cross. On 12 August 2020 His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia announced that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had approved a posthumous award of the Victoria Cross to Ordinary Seaman Sheean. In doing so, Ordinary Seaman Sheean became the first member of the Royal Australian Navy to be awarded Australia's highest honour for valour. On 1 December 2020, 78 years to the day since the death of Ordinary Seaman Sheean and the loss of HMAS Armidale (I), the Governor-General presented the insignia of the Victoria Cross for Australia to Teddy Sheean’s family at a ceremony held at Government House in Canberra, ACT.
Quite moving to see that a number of fans from other clubs have taken time out to come on here to offer condolences and pay tributes. It really shows how much Stan was admired and loved. Tearing up as I write this. You truly were The Man, Stan.
For some people, words cannot adequately describe their greatness and contribution to their field of expertise. RIP indeed.
I remember very clearly watching Rodney walking down Ellerslie Road after his last home game at QPR, I had just got his autograph. I remember talking to my fellow supporters a couple of weeks later and trying to fathom, how on earth are we going to replace him. Then out of the blue, some bloke I had never heard of who played for Carlisle was the new replacement. I don't think I was alone in thinking are you joking? To my and to many of our surprise he not only matched Rodney but very quickly surpassed all our expectations. So many memories and so many good times. They broke the mold when they made Stan. You are part of my best footballing memories, RIP Stanleeey
This thread is truly moving. For all of you Rs too young (lucky you) to have seen Stan play for us, grant us old gits a little leeway. This was a man who brought us joy, and defined what the club and being a QPR fan are about. For me, and I think many others, he will always be the core of what being a Hoop means. I’m away from home at the moment with non QPR mates. The respect that they are showing Stan says it all for me. He was, and will continue to be, loved by all who love football.
I’m out in London and over heard some fellas talking and I asked one what he said. He replied “Stan Bowles has died” it was some weird surreal moment. Like for you all, this is S@@t news. Im gutted. RIP Stan you maverick, the greatest Ranger!
Definitely one of those occasions where us young'uns (a not so sprightly 44 here) can justifiably feel envious of you folks who got to see this legend in the flesh. RIP Stan.
R.I.P. Stanley Bowles The King of Loftus Road has left us, only his Kingdom remains !!! Simply the greatest player to wear our beloved Hoops, Maverick, Genius, Legend, But more than that, Simply just one of us.
5 years ago, I took my father to Anfield for his birthday. We had pre match dinner and entertainment in The Boot Room; the speaker was Phil Neale. He and my Dad talked all things Liverpool until he asked me who I supported - when I told him, the conversation turned to the 75/76 season and what a great tussle it was between Liverpool and QPR. He also remarked that Stan Bowles was one of the most talented opponents he’d faced in his career and deserved more recognition at international level.
