The Story of the Wolves – Part 44
THIS week’s cartoon marks a very important figure in the history of twentieth century Wolves, namely Jack Howley, and I am indebted to my good friend Steve Gordos for providing some additional detail on a man who served the club for fortyfive years.
In the cartoon Jack is shown holding a precious piece of club memorabilia, a photograph of the 1893 FA Cup final at Fallowfield.
Jack was born in Wolverhampton
on 12 June 1907 and his father, also Jack, had been on the books of Wolves. He had excelled in football at school and later played for Newhampton Athletic in Wolverhampton’s Heath Town League.
Young Jack joined the Wanderers straight from St Philip’s Grammar School, Birmingham, in 1923, as office boy at Molineux. In those days the club office was in Lichfield Street, and he served under Bert Hoskins as secretary and George Jobey as manager. Although he had carried out secretarial duties for several years, it was only in 1948, when Stan Cullis was manager, that Howley officially took on the title of secretary.
Jack was at the administrative helm throughout the glory days and by 1963 his duties as secretary had been combined with that of general manager. The next year FIFA president Sir Stanley Rous was the guest of honour at a dinner held to honour Howley at the Victoria Hotel. He had flown in from Switzerland especially to be there.
Tribute
A tribute in the programme for the evening ran: “He has been recognised as the ideal secretary because he knows when to talk and – just as important – when not to, and he has come through many a testing experience without a sign of panic. Events of every kind at Molineux, large or small, all-ticket matches, those banes of club officials, have gone like clockwork, so have arrangements for
internationals, FA Cup semi-finals and all those memorable Molineux floodlight Continental highlights of the 1950s. Jack has already been honoured with a Football League long service award but it is with an even greater sense of recognition that we honour him tonight.”
A well-deserved retirement came in June 1968, when he was the Football League’s longest serving official and the first employee to be made a life member of the club, an honour reserved for former directors.
He said: “I have loved every moment spent with Wolves and have many happy memories of football
to take with me.”
Chairman John Ireland said that it was the end of an era and that his devotion and service was unprecedented in the history of the club.
Jack was succeeded by Phil Shaw who himself gave over 25 years of service to the club – the two are pictured in an attached photograph. Also Jack at the selling of Alan Hinton to Nottingham Forest (book now out! Email gpbooks@hotmail.co.uk for more information) and buying of Dick Le Flem.
But ‘Loyal’ Jack’s health was already deteriorating and at only 64 years of age he died on 23rd March,1971, collapsing at his home in Wombourne.
Perhaps the final word should be left to Jack’s daughter, Christine Povey, who said:
“Dad was a pillar of the club. People like him, Joe
Gardiner, Jack Dowen,
trainers, George Noakes, the chief scout, and George Palmer, the physiotherapist, helped make the club what it was – a family club.”