Bowden: How Bobby Bowden Forged a Football Dynasty – A Legendary Hall of Fame Coach's Six-Decade Career and Legacy

by Mike Freeman

The definitive biography of Bobby Bowden, one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and his enduring legacy

He is a giant among coaches, a Hall of Famer, and arguably the greatest Division I college football coach in history. Following a tumultuous but successful tenure at West Virginia University, Bowden accepted the head coaching post at Florida State University, a failing program in danger of being terminated. What Bowden accomplished at FSU is nothing short of miraculous: twenty-one bowl wins and two national championships. A brilliant tactician, he helped usher the pro-passing game into college football. An unrivaled recruiter, he produced thirty-one consensus all-Americans over the course of his tenure. Along the way he had to deal with devastating family tragedies, scandals, and the rise and fall of his own three sons' coaching careers.

Based on six years of research and interviews, Bowden by award-winning journalist and author Mike Freeman examines the remarkable life of Bobby Bowden and a stellar career that spanned six decades. It is the story of the making of a legend; a towering biography of a man who has left his indelible mark on the game of college football.

Genres: Sports, Football

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2009

About the author

Mike Freeman is an NFL Insider for CBSSports.com. Before that, he was an NFL writer, investigative reporter, and columnist for the New York Times; a columnist for the Florida Times-Union; and a sports reporter, features writer, and investigative writer for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Dallas Morning News.

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler alert: I'm a Gator fan. I was curious to read about Bobby Bowden after having read about other coaches and did not want my fandom to prevent me from getting to know the story of one of college football's most successful stories. There was proficient story telling about Bowden's early years and rise into the coaching field. The author touched on the Bowden sons and their coaching rivalries as well.

My favorite thing about the book was that it was fairly written to include both the good and bad of Bowden's career (the author says he touches on FSU scandals and he does). It goes into detail about the challenges rebuilding football programs, recruiting, keeping boosters happy, and dealing with media scrutiny. There are a handful of game recaps that I breezed over, but Seminole fans would probably enjoy the flashbacks.

Despite my disdain for the garnet and gold, I would love to have played for Bowden. He has a clear religious background that guides him as a person and as a coach. He was innovative and did what it took to win. Bowden may not have retired with his team on top, but he helped take a former all female school and turn it into a football power house.

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mike Freeman present the football life and career of Bowden from start to finish. Starting with how his interest grew as a young kid through his career at FSU and all the steps along the way. The writer present all phases of the Bowden's family (wife Ann) (sons and daughter) some of the ups and downs they shared as a family. The ups and downs of various actions over decades by student athletes and both the good and bad decisions in how he handled adversity associated with them. The book talks to the struggles and adversities along his coaching formation at his early coaching stops and as he climbed through WVU and taken the job at FSU. Talks about both the highs and lows of key games through the 80's until completions of the career in the 2000's. Bowden maintained a strong spiritual belief and instilled same in his players. Good read for coaches involved in the sport of Football.

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A look at the life and accomplishment of (one of) the greatest college football coaches of all time.

Reading stories of his early time all the way to 2008, Mr. Freeman has done an excellent job at capturing what makes (made) Coach Bowden so well remembered today.

[Chris Ginther · Rating 4 out of 5]

B

[Micah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's fine, but nothing special. The book reads like a bunch of disconnected essays relating to Bobby Bowden rather than a biography of him. The pacing and structure is abysmal and I have no clue how it ended up like this in its final form. Also, what's disappointing is how little the actual teams, players, and games are discussed. I was hoping this would also function as a history of Florida State football in miniature and it is not that. Players such as Peter Warrick, Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke, and Deion Sanders are barely mentioned at all and not in any substantive way. A disappointing book that admittedly does offer a decent enough portrait of Bowden for hardcore Florida State fans.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading about Bobby, a football icon. The book deals primarily with Bobby's early years but also addresses the glory years of the 90s when Florida State dominated the football landscape.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poorly written. Author either has no vocabulary or he assumes his audience doesn't.