Bobby Bowden(1929-2021)
- Actor
Coach Bobby Bowden was born in 1929 in Birmingham, Alabama. He was an
outstanding football player at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, and
went on to the University of Alabama as a freshman quarterback,
fulfilling a lifelong dream to play for the Crimson Tide. He lasted one
semester at Bama before Ann Estock, his high school sweetheart, lured
him back to Birmingham. Bobby and Ann soon married and he transferred
to Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham. Upon
graduating, he quickly began making his mark on college football.
Between 1959-1962, at Samford University, he was 31-6 as the head
coach, and then left for West Virginia University where, between 1971
and 1975, he complied a 42-26 record. It was his next stop as a head
coach, at The Florida State University, that truly set him apart from
the rest. The school was a relative baby in terms of male collegiate
athletics, as it was an all girls college until 1948, and Bobby was
given the task of taking a team with a less than spectacular past and
turing it into something great. From 1977 (his second year at FSU)
until today (2003), Bobby has not has a single losing season at FSU and
has set many impressive marks that will be difficult to match. His
Seminoles won the National Championship in both 1993 and 1999. After 28
years of coaching and a near .800 winning percentage, he is currently
second on the all time coaching victories list, and will most likely
reach imortality by one day laying claim to that record. He is a devout
Christian who, on Sunday morning will usually be found in the pulpit of
a church somewhere in the south. Outside of football, Bowden has an
intense interest in World War II history and he is a voracious reader
on the subject. He and his wife Ann have surpassed the 50 year mark in
thier marriage, in 1999, and they currently have 6 children and 21
grandchildren.
