Mick Bowes | |||||||
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OVERALL STATISTICS | |||||||
| BIRTH | AGE | SIGNED ON | FROM | ||||
| DEBUT | LAST MATCH | LEFT | |||||
| CAREER | APPEARANCES (SUBS) | ||||||
| TRIES | GOALS | DGOALS | PTS | ||||
Biography of Mick Bowes | ||||
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 HERITAGE NO : 963 Anyone who watched Pilks Recs and Saints in the early 1980s will remember Mick Bowes, a forceful forward, in the front or back row, who looked to be heading for a fine career at professional level with his hometown club, before injury kicked in. This is his story, in his own words. Although it obviously has a Recs slant, it does provide further details of Mike’s rugby league career. Being involved with Pilks Recs, as I did so from leaving school was a great honour. As you may know I began my rugby career at Rivington High School, with the great John Mantle, who later coached Pilks at one stage, as our teacher and coach, playing with both Neil Holding and Tommy Frodsham amongst others. We had a great five years and only lost twice, I think, which was awesome at the time. Following on from that I did my time in the under 17s, in the 1970s. Then in the early 1980s I broke into the first team, playing with the likes of Sid Wright, John Mc Cabe, Kenny Cross, Kevin Whittle, Denis Litherland, Rufus Hill, Geoff Gormley, Rocky Fairhurst, Ian Lea, Brian Harvey, Billy Simmons, Dave Arthur Manning to name but a few. They, at the time, were establishing themselves as the most prominent force in amateur rugby and it was great to get invited into that set up. As you know I represented Lancashire at that level and obtained a winner’s medal in the BARLA National Cup albeit getting sent off after a brawl towards the latter end of the match in Blackpool. Another great honour was to sign at St Helens RFC in 1982. This is every St Helens lad's dream really, to represent the town. I unfortunately had a couple of injuries which blighted my career, but I really enjoyed my time there under the guidance of Billy Benyon, playing with the likes of Harry Pinner, Chris Arkwright, Neil Holding, Mel James, Peter Gorley to name but a few and turning out at Elland Road with the great Mal Meninga. I stayed with the club until injury forced its hand and left in 1985 after having a major operation on my back, a spinal fusion. After that I had to prove it to myself that the operation was a success, so I turned out once again for Pilks at City Road before joining the Police in 1987, where I enjoyed an unblemished career, leaving there after retirement in 2016. I now work for the Police as a civilian passing on my experience and dealing with victims of Domestic abuse. Mick, who won two Lancashire Combination titles with the Saints, still retains an interest in matters rugby league and is a hands-on member of St Helens RFC Players Association. | ||||
PLAYER HONOURS | ||||
SEASON STATISTICS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season (Official Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
| 1983~84 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984~85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTALS: | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Season (Other Matches) | Tries | Goals | DGoals | Matches |
| 1982~83 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983~84 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1984~85 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTALS: | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
ALL MATCHES | ||||
| Date | Match | Pos | Opponents | Comp | Venue | FT | FTO | T | G | DG | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22nd May 1983 | -- | D |
10 | Warrington* | Fr Testimonial | A | 16 | 16 | 1 | VIEW | ||
| 7th Aug 1983 | -- | W |
10 | Huyton* | Fr Charity | H | 48 | 14 | VIEW | |||
| 10th Aug 1983 | -- | W |
10 | Widnes * | Fr Testimonial | H | 44 | 20 | VIEW | |||
| 14th Aug 1983 | -- | W |
15 | Oldham* | Fr Ward Cup | A | 32 | 10 | VIEW | |||
| 18th Sep 1983 | 1 | L |
8 | Bradford Northern | L | A | 10 | 14 | VIEW | |||
| 29th Jul 1984 | -- | L |
8 | Barrow * | Fr Benefit | A | 10 | 19 | VIEW | |||
| 26th Aug 1984 | -- | W |
16 | Oldham* | Fr Ward Cup | H | 38 | 4 | VIEW | |||
| 14th Oct 1984 | 2 | W |
15 | Hunslet | L | A | 32 | 14 | VIEW | |||
| 17th Oct 1984 | 3 | W |
15 | Halifax | L | H | 42 | 14 | VIEW |
| *Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub. |
| WINS : 6 | LOSSES : 2 | DRAWS : 1 |
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GALLERY |
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