A look at Bobby Bowden’s rise through the college football ranks into a coaching legend
▪ Nov. 8, 1929: Bowden is born in Birmingham, Alabama.
▪ January, 1949: Bowden graduates from Woodlawn High School in Alabama and enrolls at the University of Alabama. He spent only one semester in Tuscaloosa, practicing with the freshman team and accomplishing a lifelong dream to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
▪ April 1, 1949: Bowden marries Ann Estock, his childhood sweetheart and, until his death, his wife of more than 72 years. He returned home to marry her after spending just a few months at Alabama.
▪ Fall 1949: Howard College — now Samford University — reinstates football after World War II and Bowden plays for the first team back. Howard, which played in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, didn’t have scholarships then and Bowden rode the bench for his first few seasons as a backup quarterback.
▪ Fall 1952: Bowden was the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback his senior year and led them to a 5-4 record to earn Little All-America honors, which are given annually to players at the United States’ smaller colleges.
▪ Summer 1953: Bowden’s coaching career begins at Howard as an assistant. He spent two seasons at his alma mater after graduating.
▪ Fall 1955: Bowden makes his first stop as a head coach at South Georgia College, a junior college in Douglas, Georgia. Bowden spent four seasons at the small school, now South Georgia State College, and compiled his first 22 wins while twice winning a junior college coach of the year award. He was also the athletic director and basketball coach until he fired himself after a 1-13 season. He then went to take over the baseball team and led the Tigers to two state titles in three years.
▪ Fall 1959: Bowden returns to his alma mater as head coach. He brought back scholarships at the school and went 9-1 in his first season and went 31-6 in his four seasons back in Birmingham. His winning percentage still stands as the best in program history.
▪ Fall 1963: Bowden begins his first stint with the Florida State Seminoles as a wide receivers coach under coach Bill Peterson
▪ Winter 1965: After three seasons in Tallahassee, Bowden took over as the offensive coordinator of the West Virginia Mountaineers.
▪ Fall 1970: After former West Virginia coach Jim Carlen left Morgantown, Bowden takes over as the Mountaineers coach and spends his first season as head coach at a major program. He compiled 42 wins in five seasons.
▪ Dec. 19, 1972: Bowden coaches in his first bowl game, as his Mountaineers get blown out by the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the 1972 Peach Bowl.
▪ Dec. 31, 1975: Bowden leads West Virginia to victory in the 1975 Peach Bowl for his first bowl win in his second bowl trip. The Mountaineers finished the season ranked No. 20, marking the first time Bowden had a team in the Top 25 at the end of the year.
▪ Jan. 12, 1976: The Seminoles hire Bowden. He went 5-6 in his first year at Florida State. It was his only losing season in 34 years.
▪ Dec. 23, 1977: Bowden coaches in his first bowl game at Florida State, leading the Seminoles to a rout of the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 1977 Tangerine Bowl. The win was Florida State’s 10th of the season, giving Bowden his first of 17 10-win seasons. The Seminoles finished year ranked No. 14.
▪ Jan. 1, 1980: Florida State plays in its first major bowl game, losing to the Oklahoma Sooners in the 1980 Orange Bowl. It was the only loss of the season for the Seminoles, leaving Bowden just short of a potential first national title. He won his only Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award this season. He also won the Watler Camp Coach of the Year Award in 1991.
▪ Jan. 1, 1988: Florida State rallies past the Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the 1988 Fiesta Bowl. It was the Seminoles’ first major bowl victory and Bowden’s first. Florida State finished the year No. 2 — the highest end-of-season ranking in program history at the time — and began a streak of 14 consecutive seasons finishing in the top five.
▪ Nov. 7, 1992: The Seminoles blow out the Maryland Terrapins to finish their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference unbeaten in league play. Florida State won the ACC in its first nine seasons in the conference and 12 times in Bowden’s career.
▪ Jan. 1, 1994: Bowden wins his first national title after Nebraska misses a last-second field-goal attempt as the Seminoles win the 1994 Orange Bowl to finish the season 12-1.
▪ Jan. 4, 2000: Bowden completes his first undefeated season and wins his second national title after Florida State beat the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2000 Sugar Bowl, led by 163 yards and two touchdowns by superstar wide receiver Peter Warrick.
▪ May 16, 2006: Bowden is voted into College Football Hall of Fame.
▪ Dec. 27, 2006: In danger of experiencing his first losing season since his debut year with the Seminoles, Bowden leads Florida State to a win against the UCLA Bruins in the 2006 Emerald Bowl. The Seminoles finished the season 7-6 and went 7-6 in three of Bowden’s last four seasons. Florida State finished in the Top 25 just once in Bowden’s last four seasons.
▪ Jan. 1, 2010: Bowden coaches his final game. The coach announced his retirement exactly one month earlier while the Seminoles were struggling through a mediocre season. In his final game, Bowden led Florida State to a win against West Virginia in the 2010 Gator Bowl.
▪ Feb. 7, 2010: A little more than a month after Bowden finished his career, the NCAA officially vacated 12 of his wins, including one bowl victory. Bowden finished his career with a 377-129-4 record and 21-10-1 record in bowl games. His 377 wins are second most in Division I history behind only former Penn State Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno.
▪ March 21, 2010: Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban wins the first Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. The award, handed out by the Over the Mountain Touchdown Club, was handed out for six years before ceasing in 2013.
▪ July 21, 2021: Bowden announces he has a terminal medical condition.
▪ Aug. 7, 2021: FSU announces the passing of Bowden.
This story was originally published August 8, 2021 at 8:13 AM.
