Athletics: Roy Fowler obituary
RIVALS gave Roy Fowler the nickname the Red Fox because of his hair colour ... having pursued him in vain across Britain, Europe and beyond.
Fowler, who has died aged 75, was a former world cross country champion and European 10,000m bronze medallist.
He only became an athlete after overcoming childhood illness with the determination which was to define his career.
Born in Longsdon in March 1934, he grew up in Leek where his early life was plagued by regular, and occasionally life-threatening, bouts of pneumonia.
He took up running to strengthen his lungs and heart, having been encouraged by his doctor, Dr Dyson, and Trevor Harvey, who was deputy head of the County Secondary Modern School.
Fowler became a fine all-round sportsman at school, but excelled at cross country running and won his first school race, aged 14, in 1948.
He would represent England 38 times in track and cross-country events. But his career could have taken a different path. He had a trial with Manchester United, only to be told by the legendary Matt Busby that he was too small to be a footballer.
Instead, Fowler left school at 15 to become an apprentice painter and decorator, but also developed his running career when he joined the youth club at Milward Hall.
He won the Staffordshire six-mile cross country championship in 1954, an early step in a career which advanced when he was called up for National Service in 1956.
He was given time to pursue his passion for sport in the army before , at the end of his two years' National Service, an army testimonial described him as an outstanding athlete.
Fowler returning to work as a painter and decorator in Leek with Job White, while excelling on the local athletics scene.
He began to earn national success in 1960 before achieving a major breakthrough in early 1961 by winning the inter-county cross-country championship over a snow covered course in Bingley, Yorkshire.
Fowler hadn't been able to train properly because of a severe cold, but prepared with a combination of medicine, whisky and sun-lamp treatment in an effort to shake off the bug.
Conditions were so bitterly cold on the day that he placed a layer of brown wrapping paper between his two vests while his father, Harold, rubbed goose grease into his legs, but he stormed to victory over the seven-and-a-half mile course which, in parts, was nine-inches deep of mud and snow.
Among those trailing in his wake was Bruce Tulloh, the British three-mile record holder, who finished third.
Fowler had to have ice scraped off his arms at the finish, before asking The Sentinel not to report his victory in case his employers found out he'd been running when he was off work with a sicknote.
The Sentinel correspondent had to remind him his performance was so remarkable it would feature in every newspaper across the country.
A week after his victory, Fowler ran for Britain in his first international race, at Lille in Northern France.
He lost by just one second to Belgian Eugene Allonsius, but was £10 out of pocket in lost time at work and other expenses.
Happily, as he became more established, Fowler was able to take time off to compete for his country on full pay.
He established his reputation beyond doubt in 1962 with victory in the AAA six-mile track championship at London's White City Stadium.
He won in 27mins 49.8secs – a Commonwealth and UK record. Only the Hungarian Sandor Iharos, had ever run faster.
He won selection to the European Championships in Belgrade for the 10,000m, and though a groin problem made him a doubt until the very eve of the race, sheer grit carried him to third and a bronze medal behind the winner, Soviet ace Pyotr Bolotnikov.
Fowler's bad luck with injury got no better before the 1963 World Cross Country Championships in San Sebastian, Spain.
He injured his Achilles tendon four days before the race, but was determined to compete against the world class field in front of a crowd of more than 30,000.
And his resilience took him past the favourite, Belgian Gaston Roelants, to win in searing heat.
Roelants asked for a re-match with a cheque for £3,000 – 'the price of a house' – as an incentive, but Fowler declined, partly because of his injury problems, but also because he didn't want to risk his amateur status.
Instead, he turned his attention to the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 when he would have been one of the favourites for the 10,000m gold medal.
However, the shin soreness and slight leg injuries he had complained of turned out to be hairline fractures in both shins. They kept him out of action for some 18 months, and ruined his hopes of competing at the Olympics.
Fowler fought back from the bitter combination of injury and disappointment to win the inter-cross county championship at the beginning of 1966.
Later that year, he returned to White City for the six-mile championship and, although he finished fourth, his time was faster than his 1963 record.
He continued to run beyond the age of 40, winning a host of world titles in veterans' track and cross-country races, but finally retired at 46 because of damaged leg muscles.
During his career, he had also used his expertise to help others, and during a time on Stoke City's staff, helped out England legend Gordon Banks and other Potters stars with fitness work.
They would run from Stoke to Trentham and back every afternoon for weeks to help Banks keep his place in the England side.
Formerly a member of the North Staffordshire and Stone Harriers Athletic Club, Fowler later became chief coach and team manager of Staffordshire Moorlands AC.
His career inspired a biography: 'A Fighter Second To None,' by John Bale and Malcolm Henson.
He also inspired future athletes, including seven-time Potteries Marathon winner Mark Roberts, who he coached.
The father of four was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system in 2000, but continued to coach children at Birchall in Leek. He died at the weekend after finally losing his long battle against cancer.
Leave tributes to Roy Fowler at http://lastingtribute.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/tribute/fowler/3105490
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