Michael Bowden (footballer)

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Michael Bowden
Bowden playing for Richmond in the VFL
Personal information
Full name Michael John Bowden
Date of birth (1947-03-21)21 March 1947
Date of death 11 April 2020(2020-04-11) (aged 73)
Original team(s) St Kevin's College
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 94 kg (207 lb)
Position(s) Ruck-rover
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1967–1971 Richmond 59 (20)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1971.
Career highlights
  • 1969
  • VFL reserves premiership captain: 1971
  • Richmond reserves captain: 1970–71
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Michael John Bowden

Medal of the Order of Australia
(OAM).

Football career

Bowden attended St Kevins College where he won the school's 1964 best and fairest and at the same time played for the Richmond under 19s program before quitting to study as a priest at Corpus Christi College.[1][2] He left the seminary after two years and returned to Richmond, where he made his senior league debut in round 8 of the 1967 season, playing as a ruck-rover.[1]

Bowden was a premiership player in 1969, after leading the league with 194 handballs that season.[3]

He was appointed the club's reserves-grade captain the following season and lead that team to a reserves premiership in the 1971 season.

Post-football career, family and illness

Bowden became a teacher, and eventually

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory in January 2020.[5]

Bowden had three sons who went on to play for

VFA.[1]

Bowden suffered from

motor neuron disease in later life and died from the affliction on 11 April 2020.[3]

VFL statistics

Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
Behinds
 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1967 Richmond 11 7 2 3 69 30 99 20 - 0.3 0.4 9.9 4.3 14.1 2.9 -
1968 Richmond 11 15 3 9 160 146 306 38 - 0.2 0.6 10.7 9.7 20.4 2.5 -
1969 Richmond 11 20 6 4 185 194 379 87 - 0.3 0.2 9.3 9.7 19.0 4.4 -
1970 Richmond 11 12 4 3 100 118 218 55 - 0.3 0.3 8.3 9.8 18.2 4.6 -
1971 Richmond 11 5 5 0 18 25 43 10 - 1.0 0.0 3.6 5.0 8.6 2.0 -
Career[6] 59 20 19 532 513 1045 210 - 0.3 0.3 9.0 8.7 17.7 3.6 -


References

  1. ^ a b c Greenberg, Tony (11 April 2020). "Vale Mike Bowden". Richmond Football Club website. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  2. ^ Rhett Bartlett and Trevor Ruddell. "Michael Bowden". Tigerland Archive. Rhett Bartlett and Trevor Ruddell. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Tigers flag hero passes away after battle with MND". afl.com.au. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  4. NT News
    . 26 January 2020. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Honour Citation". Australian Honours Search Facility. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  6. ^ "AFL Tables – Michael Bowden – Stats – Statistics". AFL Tables. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  • Hogan P: The Tigers Of Old, Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996

External links

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