Bobby Bowden

Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden (born November 8, 1929 in Birmingham) is the current head football coach for the Florida State University Seminoles. Since taking the position in 1976, Bowden has led FSU to BCS National Championships in 1993 and 1999, as well as twelve Atlantic Coast Conference championships since FSU joined the conference in 1991.

With 369 career wins, Bowden is also currently ranked by the NCAA as the all-time winningest Division I coach by total victories. His 20-8-1 record in bowl games ranks second all-time. Only Joe Paterno (22) has more bowl wins.

Youth and family life

Born in Birmingham, Bowden spent a portion of his childhood in bed, sick. When he was 13 years old, Bowden was diagnosed with rheumatic fever. After a six month hospital stay, Bowden was confined to his bed at home for just over a year with nothing more than a radio and his imagination to pass the time. It was listening to World War II reports on the radio that began Bowden's interest in the war, an interest he still has to this day. It was also around this time that his love for football increased, as he would listen to University of Alabama football games on Saturday mornings.

Bowden was an outstanding football player at Woodlawn High School, and went on to the University of Alabama as a quarterback, fulfilling a lifelong dream to play for the Crimson Tide before returning to Birmingham and marrying his high school sweetheart Ann Estock on April 1, 1949 (today, the couple has six children and 21 grandchildren). Bobby transferred to Howard College (now Samford University), where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. Bowden graduated from Howard in 1949.

Early coaching career

Bowden served as an assistant football coach and head track and field coach at Howard from 1954-1955. He left his alma mater to serve as Athletic Director and head football, baseball and basketball coach at South Georgia College from 1956 to 1958. Bowden then returned to Howard as head coach, where he compiled a 31-6 record between 1959 and 1962. In 1962, Bowden went to Florida State University as an assistant coach under Bill Peterson and left in 1965 to go to West Virginia University as assistant coach. When the head coach at West Virginia left before the 1970 season, Bowden replaced him. Bowden then compiled a 42-26 record at West Virginia University before returning to FSU as head coach in 1976.

Florida State

At Florida State, Bowden inherited a team that had won just four games over the previous three seasons. In his 31 years as the head coach at Florida State, he has had only one losing season, his first in 1976; and has compliled a 296-82-4 record. He is the only coach in Division I-A football history to have enjoyed 14 straight seasons of 10 or more wins. His Florida State Seminoles finished an unprecedented 14 straight seasons in the top 5 of the Associated Press College Football Poll, and won the College Football National Championship in 1993 and 1999.

The National Bobby Bowden Award

In 2004, The Fellowship of Christian Athletes presented the first of what is now a yearly award in Bowden's name, "The National Bobby Bowden Award", honoring one college football player for his achievements on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award is presented each year prior at the Bowl Championship Series' national title game.

Past winners are

2003 - Jason Wright, Northwestern University, Cleveland Browns.

2004 - Billy Bajema, Oklahoma State University, Washington Redskins.

2005 - D. J. Shockley, University of Georgia, Atlanta Falcons.

2006 - Carl Pendleton, University of Oklahoma.

Bobby Bowden Field

In November 2004, by an act of the 2000 session of the Legislature of the State of Florida, Florida State renamed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium as "Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium", erected a bronze statue of his likeness, and unveiled a three story stained-glass window in his honor. Bobby Bowden Field was officially dedicated on November 20, 2004 before the annual game with archrival Florida. The Seminoles lost the game 20-13.

The Bowden Bowl

Bobby is not the only member of his family to coach Division I-A football. His son Tommy Bowden is the head coach at Clemson University; another son, Terry Bowden, was the head coach at Auburn University where he was the 1993 Coach of the Year; and a third son, Jeff Bowden, was the offensive coordinator at Florida State. All three Bowden men who were head coaches have achieved an undefeated season: Terry in 1993 at Auburn; Tommy in 1998 at Tulane; and Bobby in 1999 at Florida State. Bobby's 1999 Florida State team was the only one to win a National Championship, however. As both Florida State and Clemson are in the same division of the Atlantic Coast Conference for football, the two teams play every year in a game that has become known as "The Bowden Bowl". Their first meeting, in 1999, was the first time in Division I-A history that a father and a son met as opposing head coaches in a football game. As of September 3, 2007, Bobby holds the edge in the series, leading 5-4 with all four losses within the last five seasons.

One Bowden Bowl was scheduled between Auburn and Florida State for 1999 when Terry Bowden was the coach at Auburn. However, Terry's midseason resignation in 1998 ended the possibility of a Bowden Bowl. Auburn later used the buyout clause in the contract to get out of this matchup.

Head coaching records

• Howard College (31-6-0)
  • 1959: 9-1-0
  • 1960: 8-1-0
  • 1961: 7-2-0
  • 1962: 7-2-0
• West Virginia University (42-26-0)
  • 1970: 8-3-0
  • 1971: 7-4-0
  • 1972: 8-4-0 (lost the Peach Bowl)
  • 1973: 6-5-0
  • 1974: 4-7-0
  • 1975: 9-3-0 (won the Peach Bowl)
• Florida State University (296-114-4)
  • 1976: 5-6-0
  • 1977: 10-2-0 (won the Tangerine Bowl)
  • 1978: 8-3-0
  • 1979: 11-1-0 (lost the Orange Bowl)
  • 1980: 10-2-0 (lost the Orange Bowl)
  • 1981: 6-5-0
  • 1982: 9-3-0 (won the Gator Bowl)
  • 1983: 8-4-0 (won the Peach Bowl)
  • 1984: 7-3-2 (tied the Citrus Bowl)
  • 1985: 9-3-0 (won the Gator Bowl)
  • 1986: 7-4-1 (won the All-American Bowl)
  • 1987: 11-1-0 (won the Fiesta Bowl)
  • 1988: 11-1-0 (won the Sugar Bowl)
  • 1989: 10-2-0 (won the Fiesta Bowl)
  • 1990: 10-2-0 (won the Blockbuster Bowl)
  • 1991: 11-2-0 (won the Cotton Bowl)
  • 1992: 11-1-0 (ACC champion, won the Orange Bowl)
  • 1993: 12-1-0 (National Champion, won the Orange Bowl)
  • 1994: 10-1-1 (ACC champion, won the Sugar Bowl)
  • 1995: 10-2-0 (ACC co-champion, won the Orange Bowl)
  • 1996: 11-1-0 (ACC champion, lost the Sugar Bowl)
  • 1997: 11-1-0 (ACC champion, won the Sugar Bowl)
  • 1998: 11-2-0 (ACC co-champion, lost the Fiesta Bowl)
  • 1999: 12-0-0 (National Champion, won the Sugar Bowl)
  • 2000: 11-2-0 (ACC champion, lost the Orange Bowl)
  • 2001: 8-4-0 (won the Gator Bowl)
  • 2002: 9-5-0 (ACC champion, lost the Sugar Bowl)
  • 2003: 10-3-0 (ACC champion, lost the Orange Bowl)
  • 2004: 9-3-0 (won the Gator Bowl)
  • 2005: 8-5-0 (ACC Atlantic Division champion, lost the Orange Bowl)
  • 2006: 7-6-0 (won the Emerald Bowl)
  • 2007: 3-1-0

Publications

Bowden has co-authored several books, including:

• Bowden, Bobby (1996) Winning's Only Part of the Game : Lessons of Life and Football. ISBN 0446520500
• Bowden, Bobby (2001) The Bowden Way : 50 Years of Leadership Wisdom. ISBN 1563526840
• Bowden, Bobby (2003) Bobby Bowden: Win by Win. ISBN 0738515442
• Bowden, Bobby (2004) Bobby Bowden's Tales from the Seminole Sideline. ISBN 1582614067

References

• ACC Standings. 2006 ACC Football Media Guide. Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
• Florida State University Coaching Staff. 2006 Florida State Football Media Guide. Florida State University Athletics. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
• Florida State University Year-By-Year Record. 2006 Florida State Football Media Guide. Florida State University Athletics. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
• West Virginia University Coaching History. 2006 West Virginia Football Media Guide. West Virginia University Athletics. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.

Notes

1. Individuals qualify for the NCAA's All-time Winningest Division I-FBS (formerly Division I-A) Coaching record if they have coached at least ten seasons at a Division I-FBS school. Once qualified, all victories against four-year institutions regardless of division count towards their total.
2. NCAA 2007 Football Records, pg 378
3. Bobby Bowden profile at Seminoles.com

External links

• Bowden's bio from the official Florida State athletic's website
• Video clip from 1977 Bobby Bowden comments on his first season as head coach of Florida State University's football program.

Preceded by: Virgil C. Ledbetter	Howard College Head Football Coach 1959–1962	Succeeded by: Herman L. Scott
Preceded by: Jim Carlen	West Virginia Head Football Coach 1970–1975	Succeeded by: Frank Cignetti
Preceded by: Darrell Mudra	Florida State University Head Football Coach 1976–	Succeeded by: Current
Preceded by: Bobby Ross	Walter Camp Coach of the Year 1991	Succeeded by: Gene Stallings