When Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles notched their 10th victory of the 1991 season in early November, the amazing Seminole coach had once again figured a way to put himself among the elite coaches of all time. Only Bear Bryant and Bud Wilkinson had been able to coach their teams to 10 or more wins in eight consecutive seasons (1987-1994) in all the storied history of college football.

“When I was growing up in Alabama,” Bowden remembered, “there was only the big four New Year’s Day games. You made the big time if you had made it to the Orange, the Sugar, the Cotton or the Rose. Well, since FSU can’t play in the Rose Bowl, this gives us the complete cycle - Orange, Sugar and Cotton.” Add to that a couple of Fiesta Bowls and a multitude of other post-season trips and the man has staked his claim as the bowl master of all time.

The Sugar Bowl win in 1998 also solidified Bowden’s place as college football’s best bowl coach. His 16-4-1 record in bowl games is light years ahead of any coach with more than 10 appearances. Bobby Bowden is the only coach in the NCAA Division I history to win 10 or more games in 11 consecutive seasons.

By now, it’s been well chronicled how the Birmingham cracker left the snow and ice of West Virginia to come to Florida State and save the program. Three seasons after he walked on campus, he had taken one of the worst football teams in the country to within one game of a national championship. Bowden’s Florida State record is 207-51-4. That includes a 109-25-2 record in Tallahassee and a 94-35-2 mark away from home. He has built those numbers against some of the nation’s toughest schedules, earning respect for his team, the top players to his programs and a reputation as a competitor in the process.

Above all his coaching accomplishments, though, are his credentials as a man. Friendly and outgoing, Bowden is a devoted Christian and family man. He loves people. His personality and charm are bigger than life. He has become somewhat of a folk hero in the Deep South. A polished speaker, Bowden is constantly in demand. His busy coaching schedule curtails many speaking engagements, but any free evening in the year will find him on the speaking circuit. Every free Sunday morning will find him in the pulpit of a church somewhere in the country.

Outside of football, Bowden has an intense interest in World War II history and reads countless books and articles on the subject. He traced his ancestry to parts of Germany and has visited the country several times.

     

	Email George Goldtrap, george@happytalk.org, or call, 800-594-7554.