Published on August 9, 2021  
Bowden Society2

Former Samford football player and coach, and college football legend Bobby Bowden passed away on Sunday, Aug. 8 at 91.

Bowden’s family – his wife of 72 years, Ann Bowden, daughters Robyn Hines (Jack) and Ginger Madden Bowden, and sons Stephen, Terry, Tommy (Linda), and Jeff (Cindi), 19 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren – has shared a schedule for services in his honor, which includes an opportunity for the  community to pay their respects to Coach Bowden at Samford University.

The public is invited to Reid Chapel on Sunday, Aug. 15 from 4 – 6 p.m., where Coach Bowden will Lie in Repose.  A private family gathering and burial service will follow in Trussville, Ala. Please note: per Samford’s COVID-19 protocols, all persons on campus, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear face masks in all public indoor settings.

Public services will also be held in Tallahassee on August 13 and 14.

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.  While serving as head coach at Samford from 1959 to 1962, Bowden amassed a record of 31-6.  Read more about Coach Bowden’s legacy.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests charitable contributions be made to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at 8701 Leeds Road, Kansas City, MO 64129.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.