Profile

Born in Seaton, Cumbria, Joe Owens was one of four players from that county who were guests of the club at the 1899 Cup Final victory over Hunslet. Tom Fletcher, Joe Ferguson and Jim Lomas being the other three. All of them would eventually play for Oldham.

Joe played his first rugby with the local Payhouse Rangers team, going on to join the Seaton club for whom he was a star winger and captain. On joining Oldham he was again placed in the threequarters, but would go on to play most of his games in the pack. A utility player of tremendous courage, Joe once turned out at Swinton with a broken bone in his hand, when the club was stuck for players.

Like many of his team mates he joined the Manchester Regiment during the First World War and saw action at Gallipoli, where he was reported killed. He was in fact wounded and invalided home. It occurred that shortly after his return Oldham were playing at Leeds and as the “Oldham Chronicle” reported…. “There was a knock on the Headingley dressing room door and this wounded Tommy in hospital blue, hobbled in on sticks and enquired …if they were any short ?”…. It was Joe, back from the wars and as far as the Oldham players thought, back from the dead. A great celebration followed.

One of the great Cumbrian imports to Watersheddings, Joe gained caps from both the Rugby Union and the Northern Union for his county.