Bobby Bowden – Coaching Legend Passes Away At 91

Bobby Bowden
Jim Quist @ACCTheQ-

A college football coaching legend who had character and as Florida State president John Thrasher said, “he did it with class and a sense of humor” has passed away. Bobby Bowden was 91. There are stories and then there are Bobby Bowden stories. One such story exemplified the tenaciousness we’d all get to see when he was coaching. As a child Bowden had rheumatic fever and was bed-ridden. It didn’t stop him from listening to football games on the radio and when his health returned he played in high school. He went on to play for the college team that he spent much of his days in bed listening to, Alabama, as quarterback.

Bowden’s tenacious attitude led him to break an Alabama policy regarding freshmen which ended his short-lived journey with the Crimson Tide. But, it was a decision with life-long implications in ways far greater than just playing the game. You see, Alabama didn’t allow freshmen to marry but Bowden was determined to marry his high school sweetheart and he did. He and Ann were together until the end.

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Robert Cleckler Bowden was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1929. Little did he know in those childhood years that he’d go on to travel far and wide and have a life-long impact upon those he coached and that knew him. Thrasher said, “While he leaves an incredible legacy as one of the best football coaches in collegiate history, he also will be remembered for his great faith, his love of family and his mentorship of countless young people.”

Bobby Bowden

Following his marriage Bowden played at Samford University (then Howard College) as quarterback, he ran track and played baseball as well. Howard is where Bowden broke into the ranks of coaching as an assistant after graduating. He left Howard to take on the position of athletic director and head coach of South Georgia College. With that experience he returned to Howard as head coach for a three year run.

In 1963 Bowden got his shot at coaching the ‘big boys’ as he took on the position of wide receivers coach with Florida State. West Virginia would serve as a further launching pad for his career when he became the offensive coordinator for the Mountaineers from 1966 to 1969. The door opened further for Bowden when he was named head coach, a position he held from 1970 to 1976.

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While Bowden was at West Virginia, cross state Marshall’s football team was involved in a horrendous airplane incident that decimated the ranks of players, coaches, support staff and key supporters of the program. The loss made it’s mark on Bowden. As a result he petitioned the NCAA to allow his team to play Marshall’s final game in their jerseys. The request was rejected however West Virginia players added green crosses and MU to their helmets out of the respect.

Legacy

The support that Bowden provided to a rebuilding Marshall program prompted them to inquire if he would become their next head coach. In 1976 Bowden opted for a warmer climate and to be near his mother as he accepted the head coaching position at Florida State.

Bobby Bowden would only have one losing season in his entire 34 years with the Seminoles as head coach. That would be his first and last coming in at 5-6. Beginning in 1982 the team received their first bowl invitation under Bowden and would go on to have 28 consecutive invitations plus national championships in 1993 and 1999. Bowden finished his career at Florida State with a Gator Bowl win over West Virginia on January 1, 2010, 33-21. Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Florida State head football coach Mike Norvell said of Bowden, “He was a special human being who earned an enduring legacy because of his wonderful heart, faith and values he lived. It was the honor of my lifetime to know him and beyond anything I could dream to have a relationship with him.”

Bobby and Ann Bowden had six children including two, Tommy and Terry, who went on to be football coaches at Clemson and Auburn.

Bobby Bowden