Former QPR and Manchester City star Stan Bowles has died at the age of 75 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.
Bowles – who was seen as one of the finest talents in England during his time as a player and thrilled fans with his maverick edge – was diagnosed with the neurological disease in 2015.
In 2017 his former club QPR arranged a testimonial with Bournemouth to raise funds for Bowles and his fight with the disease and also set up a Go Fund Me page.
Sadly, his situation deteriorated and later moved into full-time care in 2020, having been living with his daughter Andrea in Manchester.
In a statement released on the club website, QPR confirmed the news, as they said: ‘It is with a heavy heart we have learned that QPR icon Stan Bowles sadly passed away this evening (Saturday), aged 75.
QPR’s iconic former midfielder Stan Bowles has died aged 75 after battling Alzheimer’s
Bowles, who played 255 times for the Hoops, was one of the game’s finest talents and greatest characters
QPR confirmed the news of Bowles’ death via a post on their official account on X on Saturday
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‘All our thoughts are with his family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. May he rest in peace.
‘The club will be confirming how we will be paying a fitting tribute to Stan in due course.
The statement continued: ‘A darling of the Loftus Road terraces, Stanley Bowles is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to have ever pulled on the famous blue and white hoops. Many would argue that he is the best.
Back in 2021, former QPR team-mate Don Shanks said of Bowles’ Alzheimer’s: ‘People always ask, “Do you think he remembers you?”, but the truth is you don’t really know.
‘You think about a half of football, well sitting there with Stan is the hardest 45 minutes of your life. There is very little communication. There are no sentences. It is mono-syllabic.
‘I didn’t know anyone who had that condition until Stan had it. Until you know someone who has got it, you have no idea what this does to people and what this does to families – how all of a sudden their lives are totally, absolutely shattered.
‘There is no good news, there is no reversal, there is no cure. It just gets slowly worse. It is soul destroying for everybody involved.’
Bowles spent much of his playing career with QPR after joining from Carlisle United for £110,000 in 1972, playing 255 times for the Hoops and scoring 70 times.
He took on the fabled No 10 shirt – often avoided to avoid comparisons with iconic star Rodney Marsh – and went on to be voted the club’s greatest player of all time in a 2004 fans poll.
Bowles never won a trophy but was part of the 1975-76 team that finished as runners up to Liverpool in the old First Division under Dave Sexton.
But his time at the club came to an end in 1979 when he fell out with new boss Tommy Docherty, who had told the player ‘you can trust me’. Bowles famously responded with: ‘I’d rather trust my chickens with Colonel Sanders’ – and was forced to train with the reserves for six months.
Bowles played five times for England. Pictured: Being watched by Three Lions boss Don Revie during a training session
His former QPR team-mate and close friend Don Shanks revealed the heartache suffered by Bowles’ family after his diagnosis
Mrs Ann Bowles, wife of QPR legend Stan, with their children, Carl (3) and Tracy (6)
He saw out his career with Nottingham Forest, Leyton Orient and Brentford before retiring from the game in 1984. Bowles started off in the game with Man City, before spells at Bury, Crewe Alexandra and Carlisle prior to his big QPR switch.
Bowles played five times for England – scoring once – with his first appearance coming in Sir Alf Ramsey’s final match in charge against Portugal in April 1974.
Off the pitch he was involved in controversies – including a revelation by Shanks that the pair once spent a night in jail after being mistaken for bank robbers.
He was also known for drinking and gambling and once famously said: ‘I blew the lot on vodka and tonic, gambling and fags. Looking back, I think I overdid it on the tonic.’
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