[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Pages 31717-31718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  PAYING TRIBUTE TO COACH BOBBY BOWDEN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Altmire) is recognized for 5 minutes.

[[Page 31718]]


  Mr. ALTMIRE. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to Bobby 
Bowden, who will coach his last game on January 1. Coach Bowden will 
retire following the Gator Bowl, ending an amazing career as one of 
college football's most successful coaches.
  Many of us may not realize that Bobby Bowden was an outstanding 
football player in his own right. He graduated from Woodlawn High 
School in Birmingham, and he achieved his dream of playing quarterback 
for the University of Alabama before transferring to Howard College, 
now Samford University.
  After college, Bowden worked his way up to becoming head coach for 4 
years at Samford, and he later was head coach for 6 years at West 
Virginia, but it's his 34 years as head coach at Florida State for 
which he will most be remembered.
  In 1976, he took the reins of his Seminoles team that had gone 
winless the previous season. From that unlikely beginning, he built one 
of the powerhouses of modern college football. During his 34 years at 
the helm of Florida State, he led his teams to 31 bowl games, including 
the past 28 years in a row, during which he once went 14 consecutive 
bowl games without a loss. He was named coach of the year six times, 
and is already a member of college football's hall of fame. From 1987 
to 2000, Bowden's Florida State teams compiled a streak of 14 
consecutive years in the season-ending top 5. During that time, he 
coached two Heisman Trophy winners, and his Seminoles played in five 
national championship games, winning two.
  It was in the beginning of that streak in the late 1980s that I first 
encountered Coach Bowden. As he did with so many, he left upon me an 
indelible impression. As a walk-on on the Seminole football team, I had 
the good fortune to see firsthand Coach Bowden's rare skill on the 
practice field, but it was his kindness and generosity away from 
football that I will most remember.
  While serious about winning, with the results to prove it, what most 
stands out about Bobby Bowden is his love of people. Known for his 
down-to-Earth colloquialisms and disarming Southern drawl, he can charm 
even the most intense personality. He is never at a loss for words, and 
sportswriters across the country will surely miss his quick wit and 
accessibility.
  On the Seminole practice squad, I occupied, perhaps, the lowest 
possible position on the team, yet Coach Bowden treated me and every 
player with respect. When you crossed paths with him, he never failed 
to ask about your schoolwork, your family, your hometown or about some 
other personal facts about you that he somehow remembered. I used to 
think that this was just coincidence or somehow related just to me, but 
what you quickly learn in spending time around Bobby Bowden is that he 
is like that with everyone, not just on the team or on campus but 
anywhere he goes in the country, whether it be to an alumni meeting, to 
a business luncheon, or to a church service. He has that rare ability 
to make a personal connection with everyone he meets. It is why the 
National Citizenship Award, presented annually by the Fellowship of 
Christian Athletes, now bears his name.
  So, for all of his success as a football coach, the true legacy of 
Bobby Bowden is the impact he has on people and on the lives he has 
touched. Just as much as his coaching record, the relationships that he 
built and the friends he made during his 80-plus years and counting 
will long be remembered. My best wishes and congratulations go out to 
Bobby and Ann Bowden as they now embark on this next chapter of their 
lives together.

                          ____________________