Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden Coaches Last Game

The great coach, Bobby Bowden coached his last game at Florida State. Bobby is greatly known for his homespun wit and caring greatly for other people. Bobby has coached some powerhouses at Florida State winning two national Titles in 1993 and 1999.

When he was 13 years old, Bowden was diagnosed with rheumatic fever.  Bowden was confined to his bed at home for just over a year with nothing more than 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 on Saturday mornings.

Bowden was an outstanding football player at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, 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 have 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 1953.

Coach Bowden of the dad-gum saying bid his farewell with a win over West Virginia. Bowden is 80 years old.

With 1:39 left, Bowden trotted down to the Florida State band section, removing his autographed white cap and tossing it into the seats—and the celebration began. Normally the officals will assess a penalty for throwing the hat into the stands.When it was over, Bowden was surrounded by a wall of photographers, trying to make his way over to shake the hand of West Virginia coach Bill Stewart—who was a 177-pound walk-on for Bowden’s first Mountaineers team in 1970.

Bowden finished with a 389-129-4 record, and most importantly to him, a 33rd consecutive winning season. Next week, Jimbo Fisher takes over at Florida State, which finished 7-6 for the third time in the last four years.

·  Has guided FSU to 29 bowl appearances in 31 seasons, including 25 straight

·  Since 1993, Florida State has played in the national championship game five times (1993 Orange vs. Nebraska, 1996 Sugar vs. Florida, 1998 Fiesta vs. Tennessee, 1999 Sugar vs. Virginia Tech, and 2000 Orange vs. Oklahoma)

·  Since the inception of the BCS in 1998, FSU has reached one of the BCS bowl games six times

·  Patriarch of the first father-son duo to lead Division I-A programs, let alone to lead them at the same time

·  National Citizenship Award (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) named after Bobby Bowden in 2004

COACHING STOPS
1954-55 Assistant Football Coach/Head Track Coach at Howard (now Samford)
1956-58 Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at South Georgia Junior College
1959-62 Head Football Coach at Samford College
1963-65 Assistant Coach (Receivers) at Florida State
1966-69 Offensive Coordinator at West Virginia
1970-75 Head Coach at West Virginia
1976- Head Coach at Florida State