Locals remember FSU legend Bobby Bowden
Who was Bobby Bowden?
Bobby Bowden, the popular Hall of Fame coach who won 377 games and made Florida State one of the great dynasties of college football with two national championships, has passed away. He was 91 years old.
Bowden is best known for coaching the Florida State Seminoles from 1976 to 2009, and is considered one of the greatest college football coaches of all time for his accomplishments with the Seminoles. Wikipedia
Bobby’s son Terry confirmed to The Associated Press that his father died at his home in Tallahassee, Florida, surrounded by his family early Sunday morning.
“It was truly peaceful,” Terry Bowden said in a text message to the AP.
How old was Bobby Bowden?
He was 91 year old when he died.
Robert Cleckler Bowden Born November 8, 1929, Birmingham, Alabama, overcame rheumatic fever as a child and made it to quarterback Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, then attended Alabama for a semester before moving back to his city. native, Howard University, where he served as quarterback.
He married the girl of his childhood sweetheart, Ann, and they remained together for 72 years.
Cause of Death
Bobby Bowden, the folksy Hall of Fame coach who won more than 350 games and built Florida State into one of college football’s great dynasties, has died. He was 91. Bobby’s son, Terry, confirmed to The Associated Press that his father died early Sunday morning August 8, 2021 at home surrounded. Florida State also announced the news on social media.
The 91-year-old Bowden:
Was hospitalized last October after he tested positive for COVID-19.
The positive test came a few days after returning to his Tallahassee home from a lengthy hospital stay for an infection in his leg. He did not disclose his condition in his statement.
Bobby Bowden announced on July 21 that he had a terminal illness that Terry Bowden later said was pancreatic cancer. Bobby Bowden had been treated for prostate cancer more than a decade ago.
“I’ve always tried to fulfill God’s purpose for my life, on and off the field, and I’m prepared for what’s to come,” Bowden said at the time. “My wife, Ann, and our family have been life’s greatest blessing. I am at peace. ”
Bowden was loved by Seminoles fans, respected by his teammates, and throughout his life he was one of the most accessible stars in college football. His home number had been in the Tallahassee phone book for years.
“Florida State University has lost a legend with the passing of Bobby Bowden,” University President John Thrasher said in a statement. “Coach Bowden built a football dynasty and raised the national profile of Florida State University, and he did it with class and a sense of humor.”
Bowden retired after the 2009 season with a Gator Bowl victory over West Virginia in Florida State’s 28th consecutive postseason appearance, a victory that gave him his 33rd consecutive winning season. However, a month after his resignation, the NCAA stripped the state of Florida of victories in 10 sports due to an academic cheating scandal in 2006 and 2007 involving 61 athletes.
“Coach Bowden built a football dynasty and raised the national profile of Florida State University, winning 12 Atlantic Coast Conference championships and National titles in 1993 and 1999. He was selected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and he did it with dignity, class and a sense of humor,” Florida State president John Thrasher said in a statement. “Although his accomplishments on the field are unmatched, his legacy will go far beyond football. Marching Chiefs honor Bobby Bowden, 9/05/2021
Still, only Penn State’s Joe Paterno is credited with winning the most games: Paterno of Penn State Career Record: 46 Years, 409-136-3, .749 Win% (at major schools ) Bowl Record: 37 Games, 24-12-1, .662 Win% (at major schools.)
With Southern charm and wit, Bowden racked up 377 victories during his 40 years as a top college coach, from little Samford, his alma mater, then known as Howard College, to West Virginia and finally Florida State, where he went 315-98-4. The Seminoles were a force during his 34 seasons as coach,
Florida State dominated the ACC with Bowden, winning championships in 12 of its first 14 seasons after joining the league in 1992. “Bobby Bowden has meant everything to Florida State athletics and a lot to college football in general,” said Florida State Athletic Director David Coburn. “He is part of the heart and soul of FSU, but he goes beyond that: he is a huge part of the history of the game.” Bowden won the national championship in 1993 with Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Charlie Ward and again in 1999 with his second Heisman winner, quarterback Chris Weinke, and All-American catcher Peter Warrick.
The Seminoles were a contender to win the title every season for more than a decade. Florida State lost national championship games to Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma and narrowly missed a title opportunity in several other seasons due to losses to archrival Miami.
Bowden was replaced in 2010 by his offensive coordinator, Jimbo Fisher, who had been Bowden’s pending replacement. “He is one of the great human beings that he has trained and one of the great trainers that he has trained,” Fisher said. Bowden once joked that his tombstone would read, “But he played Miami,” a phrase that came the day after the Hurricanes escaped with a 17-16 victory in 1991, when the Seminoles missed a field goal in the final seconds. . Miami also won similarly in 2002 when a field goal try drifted to the left, much to Bowden’s chagrin.
Bowden was also the patriarch of the most colorful coaching family in college football. His son Tommy Bowden had a 90-49 record at Tulane and Clemson, and his son Terry Bowden had a 47-17-1 record at Auburn. Another son, Jeff, served 13 years as a wide receiver coach for his father at Florida State and six seasons as an offensive coordinator before resigning in 2006.
Jeff Bowden’s time at Florida State was shaky and emblematic of the program’s downfall in the early 2000s. Florida’s state offense had dropped to its lowest production in a quarter-century and Jeff Bowden received $ 537,500 for to resign for the drivers.
Bobby Bowden left West Virginia to take over a Florida state program in 1976 that had produced just four wins in the previous three seasons. The Seminoles finished 5-6 in Bowden’s freshman year and never again experienced a losing season under a man who said he prepared for soccer games like World War II generals prepared for battle.
“You face similar tasks of motivation, preparation, teamwork, discipline,” Bowden said.
“I probably get the most satisfaction from putting the strategies into practice and seeing how they develop.”
By 1979, Bowden had positioned Florida State for one of the great careers in the annals of college football.
Led by All American nose guard Ron Simmons, the Seminoles enjoyed an 11-0 regular season but lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. In 1993, despite a late slip at Notre Dame, Florida State won its first national title after nearly getting there in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 1992.
Bowden’s only perfect season came in 1999 when the Seminoles became the first team to go from cable to cable in The Associated Press rankings, number one from preseason to finish.
“The first championship was more of a relief,” Bowden said. “I think I was able to enjoy the second a little more.”
Bobby Bowden won two national titles with Florida State.The success also attracted dazzling attention, and Bowden’s show was affected by scandal at times. The school was put on probation by the NCAA for five years after several players in 1993 accepted free shoes and other sporting goods at a local store. The episode prompted former Florida coach Steve Spurrier to call FSU “Free Shoes University.”
Bowden prided himself on adjusting to the times and giving players a second chance, but critics said he was soft on discipline in order to win games.
“If short hair and good manners won soccer games, the Army and Navy would play for the national championship every year,” Bowden replied.
Randy Moss, one of the most talented athletes to attend Florida State, never downplayed the Seminoles and was expelled from school after a red-shirt season for smoking marijuana. In 1999, Warrick was caught in a shopping scam that led to his suspension for two games and likely cost him the Heisman Trophy that year.
The Seminoles won 10 or more games in 18 of Bowden’s 34 seasons at Florida State, but were relatively deadly 74-42 on the field from 2001-09. “There’s only about 6 inches that turn that halo into a rope,” Bowden liked to say on good days, when Florida faithful often called him “Saint Bobby.”
The cheating scandal that led to the loss of a dozen victories from Bowden’s final resume took place in an online music history course from fall 2006 to summer 2007. The NCAA said some athletes received responses to exams and, in some cases, there were papers typed for them.
Despite those difficult days near the end of his career, Bowden remained in the public eye after his retirement, writing a book, giving speeches and publicizing his treatment for prostate cancer in 2007. His fear of retiring from the coach resulted in part to the death of his longtime idol, former Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, who died within weeks of leaving the field.
“After you retire, there’s just one big event left,” Bowden often said.
Bowden built the Florida State program by programming the toughest opponents he could find, and he would face them anywhere, usually at his stadium. He was dubbed “King of the Road” in 1981 after playing back-to-back road games at Nebraska, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and LSU, and winning three of the five.
His daring move also earned him the Riverboat Gambler nickname in some quarters. Bowden’s most famous trick play came in 1988 at Clemson. He sent his punt team to the field with 1:33 remaining in a tying game with a quarter and 4 and the ball at 21 Florida State. The Florida State punter jumped high into the air and acted like he was chasing a snap as the upback grabbed the ball and slid it between his legs where LeRoy Butler grabbed it and ran 78 yards to Clemson 1 to set up the goal. winning field.
“We were determined that someone was going to win that game,” Bowden said after the “Puntrooskie.”
Throughout Bowden’s career, Florida State won games at many of the nation’s toughest stadiums, including Michigan, Southern California, and of course rivals Florida and Miami. In 1987, the Seminoles crushed Big Ten champion Michigan State 31-3 at East Lansing and defeated Southeast Conference champion Auburn at home ground, 34-6.
Bowden was also considered one of the best managers of great individual talent, recruiting and developing the likes of Simmons, Ward, Weinke, Warrick, Butler, and Deion Sanders, who earned the nickname “Prime Time” during their Seminole days.
Florida State’s recruiting classes were nearly always among the best nationally. In the 1990s, the Seminoles poured star talent into the NFL annually, including four of the top 19 picks in the 2006 draft, the same year Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Coach Bowden always tried to serve God’s purpose for my life, on and off the field, and I am prepared for what is to come,” Bowden said in a statement released to news outlets, including The Associated Press. “His wife Ann and their family have been life’s greatest blessing.
His faith and family have always come first, and he is an incredible role model for his players and fans alike. He is beloved by the FSU family.” Bowden retired following the 2009 season with a Gator Bowl win over West Virginia in Florida State’s 28th straight postseason appearance.
Bowden had wanted to coach another season to continue this pursuit of 400 wins, but Florida State officials did not renew his contract. He was replaced by then-offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher.
“Bobby Bowden has meant everything to Florida State athletics and so much to college football in general,” Florida State athletic director David Coburn said in a statement. “He is a part of the heart and soul of FSU, but it goes beyond even that – he is a big part of the history of the game.
“Anyone who has had the opportunity to be around Coach Bowden knows what it is like to know a person who has his priorities in the right order, who loves life and values integrity and honor.” Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach, the architect of some of the most prolific offenses in the history of the game, said Bowden has been an example to every coach.
“He’s one of those guys that made us all want to coach when we were younger, made it exciting,” Leach said. “Coach Bowden threw the ball before most people were inclined to. When I was young, in high school, junior high, I used to watch his teams because they’re a team that was liable to upset teams ahead of them, and that’s when they started throwing the ball around, became more and more explosive.”
Coach Bowden is survived by his wife Ann his; his sons Terry, Tommy, Jeff and Steve; and daughters Robyn Hines and Ginger Madden. Bobby Bowden Legendary Quotes.
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