Cowan was a standout track and football athlete at his Fort Wayne, Indiana high school. He attended Indiana University and starred as a halfback for two years, interrupted by service in the Army Air Force during World War II. Cowan joined the Browns in 1947, when the team won the AAFC championship. Cleveland won all of its games in 1948 and beat the Buffalo Bills in the championship game. Cowan was sent to the Colts for the 1949 season, but he was slowed by a knee injury and left the game a year later. He became a high school principal in Fort Wayne after his playing career.
Cowan grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was a star athlete at the city's North Side High School.[1] He failed to place first just once in the 220-yard dash during his high school track career. Cowan came in second in his only loss at a state track meet in his sophomore year.[1] He had times of 9.9 seconds in the 100-yard dash, under 22 seconds in the 220 and 49 seconds in the 440.[1] Cowan's football team lost only twice in four years at North Side.[1] The team went unbeaten in his senior year, and Cowan broke a state high school scoring record with 155 points playing as a right halfback.[1]
Cowan joined the Army Air Force in 1943 and served in World War II as part of the ground crew at various military bases and at Okinawa.[1] He played in 1944 for the service basketball team at a Salt Lake City, Utah base called the Air Base Wings.[2] After the war, he returned to Indiana and played part of the 1946 season at right halfback.[1] His best game for Indiana came against the Rose Bowl champion Illinois, when he caught a pass for a 37-yard touchdown and helped set up a second touchdown with a run as the Hoosiers won by seven points.[1]
Professional careeredit
Cowan was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1945 NFL Draft. The war delayed his professional career, however, and he signed in 1947 with the Browns, who selected him in the 1947 AAFC Draft.[1] Cowan won a spot on the roster alongside fellow Fort Wayne native and Indiana graduate Bill Boedeker.[1] The Browns finished the season with a 12–1–1 record and won the AAFC championship game against the New York Yankees.[3] After the season, he returned to Indiana to finish his final semester and get a degree.[1]
Cowan returned to the Browns in 1948. The team won all of its games that year, beating the Buffalo Bills in the championship game.[4] Cowan, however, lost his job as the starting right halfback late in the season to Dub Jones.[5] He was sent to the Baltimore Colts before the 1949 season. Bothered by a knee injury, Cowan left football after a year in Baltimore.[6][7]
Later life and deathedit
Cowan returned to Fort Wayne after his playing career and became a high school principal.[6] ·He retired from the Fort Wayne Community Schools as Personnel Director after 30 years of service.[8] He died in 2004.[9]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefghijklmnSauerbrei, Harold (August 3, 1947). "Paul Brown Finds Out About Cowan". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Bowling Green, O. p. 19.
^"Air Base Courtiers Expect Much Trouble With Utes Saturday Night". The Deseret News. February 10, 1944. p. 10. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
^. Familysearch.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
Bibliographyedit
Piascik, Andy (2007). The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN978-1-58979-571-6.
External linksedit
Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
December 15, 2023
cowan, curler, curler, robert, george, cowan, january, 1923, january, 2004, american, football, halfback, played, three, seasons, america, football, conference, aafc, between, 1947, 1949, cowan, played, cleveland, browns, baltimore, colts, cowan, during, india. For the curler see Bob Cowan curler Robert George Cowan January 2 1923 January 20 2004 was an American football halfback who played three seasons in the All America Football Conference AAFC between 1947 and 1949 Cowan played for the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts Bob CowanCowan during his Indiana University careerNo 17 80Position HalfbackPersonal informationBorn 1923 01 02 January 2 1923Fort Wayne Indiana U S Died January 20 2004 2004 01 20 aged 81 Fort Wayne Indiana U S Height 5 ft 11 in 1 80 m Weight 185 lb 84 kg Career informationHigh school North Side Fort Wayne Indiana College IndianaNFL Draft 1945 Round 12 Pick 111Career historyCleveland Browns 1947 1948 Baltimore Colts 1949 Career highlights and awards2 AAFC champion 1947 1948 Career NFL statisticsGames 33Rushing yards 280Player stats at PFRCowan was a standout track and football athlete at his Fort Wayne Indiana high school He attended Indiana University and starred as a halfback for two years interrupted by service in the Army Air Force during World War II Cowan joined the Browns in 1947 when the team won the AAFC championship Cleveland won all of its games in 1948 and beat the Buffalo Bills in the championship game Cowan was sent to the Colts for the 1949 season but he was slowed by a knee injury and left the game a year later He became a high school principal in Fort Wayne after his playing career Contents 1 High school and college career 2 Professional career 3 Later life and death 4 References 4 1 Bibliography 5 External linksHigh school and college career editCowan grew up in Fort Wayne Indiana and was a star athlete at the city s North Side High School 1 He failed to place first just once in the 220 yard dash during his high school track career Cowan came in second in his only loss at a state track meet in his sophomore year 1 He had times of 9 9 seconds in the 100 yard dash under 22 seconds in the 220 and 49 seconds in the 440 1 Cowan s football team lost only twice in four years at North Side 1 The team went unbeaten in his senior year and Cowan broke a state high school scoring record with 155 points playing as a right halfback 1 Cowan attended Indiana University starting in 1941 1 He became the football team s starting right halfback in the middle of the following year his sophomore season 1 Cowan also played basketball at Indiana and was spotted during a state tournament in 1941 by Blanton Collier who went on to become an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns of the All America Football Conference AAFC 1 Cowan joined the Army Air Force in 1943 and served in World War II as part of the ground crew at various military bases and at Okinawa 1 He played in 1944 for the service basketball team at a Salt Lake City Utah base called the Air Base Wings 2 After the war he returned to Indiana and played part of the 1946 season at right halfback 1 His best game for Indiana came against the Rose Bowl champion Illinois when he caught a pass for a 37 yard touchdown and helped set up a second touchdown with a run as the Hoosiers won by seven points 1 Professional career editCowan was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1945 NFL Draft The war delayed his professional career however and he signed in 1947 with the Browns who selected him in the 1947 AAFC Draft 1 Cowan won a spot on the roster alongside fellow Fort Wayne native and Indiana graduate Bill Boedeker 1 The Browns finished the season with a 12 1 1 record and won the AAFC championship game against the New York Yankees 3 After the season he returned to Indiana to finish his final semester and get a degree 1 Cowan returned to the Browns in 1948 The team won all of its games that year beating the Buffalo Bills in the championship game 4 Cowan however lost his job as the starting right halfback late in the season to Dub Jones 5 He was sent to the Baltimore Colts before the 1949 season Bothered by a knee injury Cowan left football after a year in Baltimore 6 7 Later life and death editCowan returned to Fort Wayne after his playing career and became a high school principal 6 He retired from the Fort Wayne Community Schools as Personnel Director after 30 years of service 8 He died in 2004 9 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Sauerbrei Harold August 3 1947 Paul Brown Finds Out About Cowan Cleveland Plain Dealer Bowling Green O p 19 Air Base Courtiers Expect Much Trouble With Utes Saturday Night The Deseret News February 10 1944 p 10 Retrieved September 18 2012 Piascik 2007 p 81 Piascik 2007 p 121 Sauerbrei Harold November 8 1948 Browns Subdue Colts 28 7 Twelfth Straight League Victory Sets Record Cleveland Plain Dealer p 21 a b Hickey William December 3 1965 This Sporting Life Cleveland Plain Dealer p 37 Bob Cowan NFL Football Statistics Pro Football Reference Archived from the original on November 12 2012 Retrieved September 18 2012 Obituary Robert G Cowan 2004 United States Social Security Death Index Robert G Cowan 2004 Familysearch org Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved September 18 2012 Bibliography edit Piascik Andy 2007 The Best Show in Football The 1946 1955 Cleveland Browns Lanham MD Taylor Trade Publishing ISBN 978 1 58979 571 6 External links editCareer statistics and player information from NFL com Pro Football Reference Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bob Cowan amp oldid 1158563877, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
