Samford Hall of Fame Members
Biography
RETURN TO SAHOF HOMEPAGE
INDUCTION CLASS: 2017
SPORT: Football
The name Bobby Bowden is synonymous with college football. The Birmingham native won 377 games over his long career as a head coach at Samford, West Virginia and Florida State. Bowden played on the freshman team at Alabama in 1948 before transferring to Samford (then Howard College), where he played from 1949 to 1952, and earned All-America honors in 1952 as a quarterback. While serving as head coach at his alma mater from 1959 to 1962, Bowden amassed a record of 31-6, posting the highest winning percentage of any coach in school history. He was hired as the head coach at West Virginia in 1970, and served in that role until 1975. In 1976, Bowden began his legendary run at Florida State. During his time with the Seminoles, Bowden won 304 games, and he led the program to the 1993 and 1999 national titles. Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
