MAURICE OWEN

On January 11th 1947

Maurice Owen, (born 4/7/1924) who signed from Non-League Abingdon in 1946, hit the headlines when he scored a hat-trick on his debut for Swindon Town in their 5-0 Division 3 (South) victory over Watford at the County Ground on this day in 1947. He scored 16 goals in the first 17 League matches he played in his first season for the Robins including 4 against Mansfield and in his career at the club, which lasted until 1962/63. In total he scored 165 goals in 601 League appearances for Swindon, in FA Cup and League Cup outings. He was the club's fourth top goal scorer.

After the Town board accepted a £14,000 offer from Norwich for his services, Owen rejected the move, wanting to stay near his home in Abingdon. Owen went onto become Swindon's top scorer in six seasons, and gained international recognition - turning out for England B versus France.

In the twilight of his career, Owen moved back into more defensive positions, and became the club captain, leading Swindon to their first ever promotion in 1962/1963. After he retired from playing, he took on secretarial and coaching work at the club, before finally becoming the groundsman.