Richard David "Richie" Bowman (born 25 September 1954) is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former professional association football player.

Born in Lewisham

Lewisham

Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...

, Bowman began his career with Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic F.C.

Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, in the London Borough of Greenwich. They compete in Football League One, the third tier of English football. The club was founded on 9 June 1905, when a number of youth clubs in the southeast London area,...

, turning professional in March 1973. He made 96 appearances for the "Addicks" in The Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 before moving to Reading

Reading F.C.

Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

 in 1976. He spent five years with the club, where he made nearly 200 League appearances and helped the "Royals" win the Football League Fourth Division

Football League Fourth Division

The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

 championship in 1979. Two years later he moved to Gillingham

Gillingham F.C.

Gillingham Football Club is an English professional football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, they play their home matches at the Priestfield Stadium...

, where his former Charlton team-mate Keith Peacock

Keith Peacock

Keith Peacock is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Peacock played his entire professional career for Charlton Athletic, making over 500 Football League appearances between 1962 and 1979...

 was manager. In December 1981, however, he seriously injured his knee in an FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

match. Although he attempted a comeback on several occasions, he was forced to admit defeat and retire in 1984.