There’s nowt concrete to talk about before the window opens, lads, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to record one of the greatest signings Sunderland ever made - or so we thought. On June 16th - in 1953, we signed a goalkeeper from Greenock Morton and it was news that lit up the whole town - big time! His name was Jimmy Cowan. Jimmy was conidered at that time, one of the world’s greatest ‘keepers, right up there with Yashin of Russia and Grosics of Hungary. He first played for Scotland (I think) in 1948. At Wembley in the Home Championship game that year, England murdered them - and lost! Just what the hell did you have to do to beat this guy? Scotland won 3 - 1, and such a magnificent part did Cowan play, that at the end of the game, the entire Scotland team ran to chair Jimmy Cowan off the field. Scotland won the Home Championships that year without losing a game - and did it again a couple of seasons later! I remember that night - our house was alive with it - Jimmy Cowan, Jimmy Cowan. At school next morning - Jimmy Cowan, Jimmy Cowan. Everywhere - Jimmy Cowan. It was the most sensational signing Sunderland had made since Shackleton in 1948. A couple of months before that, Jimmy had taken a little knock in a routine game for Morton. It was nowt, and Sunderland signed him anyway. But it proved a lot worse than that. This was Marcos Angeleri, 1950s style. Jimmy Cowan never did get over it. Jimmy played somehwere around 30 games for Sunderland over the next couple of seasons. He did o.k., don’t get me wrong. He let nobody down. But he was never the Jimmy Cowan we thought we had bought. In 1955, we let Jimmy return to Scotland - at Third Lanark. But he was only able to play seven games there that season, and Third’s released him. He never played again. Jimmy Cowan died in 1968. aged just 42. In (again off the top of my head) 2011, Jimmy Cowan was inducted into the Scottish Footballers Hall of Fame. And at least one little Anglo was pleased. Me. Without that ‘little knock’, Cowan would be remembered today as among the greatest goakeepers in the world, ever. Jimmy Cowan is one of the biggest tragedies I can remember in post-war football.
That was a great read thanks mate. Something I knew nothing about but kinda sums up our luck. We could and should have been so much more then what we are today.. Here's hoping that dick starts to sort us out and next season we really push on..
On top of that he was not the biggest (about 5'8") but lightning quick, and in the day of shoulder charges was a canny dodger of big centre forwards. My abiding memory of him was he had trouble with his goal kicking technique often not clearing the penalty area .
Good points, mate - jogged a bit more memory. Didn't Jack Hedley start taking his goal kicks for him? There were quite a few small-ish goalies around then for some reason - Bert Williams of Wolves and England was only about 5' - 9", and I don't think Grosics of Hungary was much different. Cowan could have stood on Williams shoulders and they'd hardly make a Pantillimon Smithy - loved your link to you tube. That has to be Shack when young - the only player I've ever seen who wouldn't surprise anybody if he had played with an ice lolly in his hand.
If only telly had been around in Shack's day to capture him swerving a ball around players or chipping it into the path of an attacker. I was beautifully placed in the Roker end to see him roll a twenty yard pass along the touchline for Billy Elliott who thought it was going out until Shack told him to run after it.
Haha wish I could of seen him play, a magician by what I've heard, I couldn't find anything on YouTube of him tho
Ronaldo, Messi, Best, Maradona, Matthews, Garincha, Mannion - all very clever with a ball. But I've honestly never seen another Len Shackleton. Most of those were probably better all-round players than him. But the things he could do with a ball were just mind-boggling. "The rest of us could only stand and marvel at the cheek of him" - Sir Stanley Matthews.
My old man always said if Shackelton had been around with the balloon the players play with now, everybody would be getting measured up against him. As he was doing tricks others could only dream of, with a ball weighing two stone.
I also heard all the stories from my father and uncles about Shack and I had the pleasure of seeing him play in Jacky Milburns testimonial at St James, can't remember the year. He was doing the trick of running ( well he was walking by then ) and kicking the ball just out of reach of the full back and putting that much back- spin on that it was bouncing back to him, the full back was baffled. I also met him a few times when he had his paper shop beside the hospital at the Royalty.
