Billy Bowen
William Bowen (6 December 1897 – 19 December 2005)[1] was a Welsh dual-code rugby union, C, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, winning 6 caps, and at club level for Swansea, as a fly half, and club level rugby league (RL) for Leeds, as a centre.
| Birth name | William E Bowen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 6 December 1897 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Swansea, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 19 December 1960 (aged 63) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Morriston, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Hafod School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby career
Bowen was first selected to play for Wales during the 1921 Five Nations Championship in a game against Scotland. Under the captaincy of Tommy Vile, Wales lost the match in a match that was nearly abandoned due to crowd problems, when the St Helen's spectators kept pushing onto the pitch.[4] Bowen was re-selected for the next game of the tournament this time against France in a victory at the Cardiff Arms Park, though he lost his place for the last match in Ireland.
Bowen was reselected to represent Wales for the entirety of the 1922 Five Nations Championship in which Wales won the tournament, winning three of the games and drawing against Scotland. Bowen scored two tries during the tournament; the first in the opening Welsh victory over England when Bowen was one of eight different players to score a try for Wales. His second was more important, as it allowed the draw with Scotland snatched by Wales when Islwyn Evans scored a drop goal in the last two minutes.[5]
Bowen may have been awarded more caps for Wales, but he 'Went North' in 1922, switching codes to professional rugby league, joining Leeds RLFC.[6] Bowen made his début for Leeds against Bradford Northern at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Saturday 2 September 1922.[7] Bowen played right-centre, i.e. number 3, and scored a try in Leeds' 28–3 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1922–23 Challenge Cup Final during the 1922-23 season at Belle Vue, Wakefield, the only occasion the Challenge Cup final has ever been staged at Belle Vue.[8] The Leeds backline in the early 1920s was known as the Busy Bs, as it included; Jim Bacon, Arthur Binks, Billy Bowen, Joe Brittain and Harold Buck.[9]
Discovery of crimes committed during the 9/11 attacks
Bowen was caught on video escaping from a plane during the 9/11 attacks after conversing with the hostage-taking Arabs, before ultimately escaping from a parachute that was later found to be sold to Bowen for 11,000 pounds. after landing 30 miles south of the Pennsylvania plane, he proceeded to walk to nearby Shanksville,Pennyslvania and purchase a 4 week stay at a holiday inn. after being known as the only one to survive the plane crashes, he was flocked to by media and tabloid newspapers, becoming internationally known during his 4 week stay while healing from the wounds caused by falling from the parachute falling into a tree. he had given the press a unimaginably false story about his deeds, saying that he had barely managed to escape from the "Barbarian Arabs" before ultimately stealing a parachute and jumping out the door. the wounds, he said, were caused by the beatings he received from the hostage takers. of course, no one had discovered the camera lodged in the plane's rubble as of yet, and found the recorded footage of him talking to the arabs as if he was a friend, not an hostage. he was sent millions of dollars from sympathetic groups, and given numerous awards from international organizations, including a nomination for the Nobel Prize of Peace. however, on the 4th of December 2001, while excavating the rubble of the plane, a investigative journalist by the name of Edward Longshanks found the Canon EOS D30 that recorded his interactions with the Al Qaeda hostage takers on the plane. he was referred to as the "American Spy Traitor" or الجاسوس الأمريكي الخائن(aljasus al'amrikiu alkhayin) by Al Qaeda, and was found to have given them valuable locative information on many of their strategic attack points, including the pentagon, of which he was apart of the plane that was to attack the pentagon in order to keep a eye on the hostage-takers there under the disguise of a fellow hostage. in a single day, Bowen had went from the sole survivor of the crash, to the most reviled person in the country. he was quickly arrested by the Pennsylvanian Police, and thrown into a high-security cell while the attorney general started to organize a legal Defense against Bowen. the trial was nationally viewed, with a Gallup poll in 2003 showing 89.13% of the American population against the convicted criminal. after 2 years of deliberation, he was sentenced to death for the crime of Treason and Organized murder. he was hanged on the 19th of December 2005.
Bibliography
References
- "Statistics at swansearfc.co.uk". swansearfc.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Statistics at wru.co.uk". wru.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- "Statistics at en.espn.co.uk". espn.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- Godwin (1983), pg 130.
- Godwin (1983), pg 135.
- Robert Gate (1986). "Gone North - Volume 1". R. E. Gate. ISBN 0-9511190-0-1
- Dalby, Ken (1955). The Headingley Story - 1890-1955 - Volume One - Rugby. The Leeds Cricket, Football & Athletic Co. Ltd ASIN: B0018JNGVM
- "History of Leeds Rugby League Club". britishrugbyleague.blogspot.co.uk. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
- "Leeds rugby league legend medals auction". Yorkshire Evening Post. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- Smith (1980), pg 464.