Robert Clecker "Bobby" Bowden (b. November 8, 1929) has been head football coach at Florida State University since 1976. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama.
Bowden was an outstanding football player at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Ala., 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. The couple have 6 children and 21 grandchildren.
Bowden served as an assistant football coach and head track coach at Howard College (now Samford University) from 1954-55. He left his alma mater to serve as Althletic Director and Head Coach at South Georgia Junior College from 1956-58. Bowden returned to Samford University and took the position of Head Coach where he complied a 31-6 record at his alma mater between 1959 and 1962. Bowden then compiled a 42-26 record at West Virginia University before arriving at FSU in 1976.
With Florida State, Bowden inherited a team that had won just four games over the previous three seasons, and in his 29 years as the head coach at Florida State, Bowden has not had one losing season piling up a 276-76-4 record; he is the only coach in Division I-A football history to compile 13 straight 10-win seasons; his Florida State teams finished an unpresidented 14 straight seasons in the top 5 of the Associated Press College Football Poll. His Florida State Seminoles won the College Football National Championship in 1993 and 1999. Nicknamed "The Riverboat Gambler" for his creative trick plays, he's notorious for his southern drawl, with statements like, "Dag gummit" topping the list. One of Bowden's greatest coaching achievements revolves around his success in bowl games. His 19-8-1 record and .696 bowl winning percentage rank first all-time. Only Joe Paterno (20) has won more bowl games. His 351 coaching victories rank hiim first all time.
In November 2004, Florida State renamed Doak Campbell Stadium as Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campell Stadium , erected a bronze statue, and unveiled a three story stained-glass window in his honor.
