Ernest J. "Goof" Bowyer (October 2, 1903 – May 19, 1988) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

from 1931 to 1932.

Early years

Bowyer attended Gainesville High, playing football for

J. Rex Farrior Jewel Rex Farrior Sr. (October 5, 1896 – January 17, 1993) was an American college football and baseball player and coach for the Florida Gators of the University of Florida, as well as a lawyer. He became a founding partner in a prominent Tam ...

and winning a state title. He then attended Lakeland High School in 1923, where he was again

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

of the Florida state champion team.

University of Florida

Bowyer attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He played for coach Tom Sebring and

Charlie Bachman Charles William Bachman Jr. (December 1, 1892 – December 14, 1985) was an American college American football, football player and head coach. Bachman was an Illinois native and an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, where he played colleg ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

teams from

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

. He was captain of the freshman team in his first year, and captain of the varsity in his senior season. In 1927, he broke his leg against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, and was elected

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

one month later. Bowyer was one of the school's greatest ever senior captains, leading what was remembered by many sports commentators as the best Florida football team until at least the 1960s.

Coaching career

After serving as an assistant for his former high school, Bowyer was hired as head football coach and athletic director for the

Florida Southern Moccasins The Florida Southern Moccasins (also shortened to Florida Southern Mocs) are the athletic teams that represent Florida Southern College, located in Lakeland, Florida, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Moccasins compete as members of ...

. His 1932 basketball team posted a 10–3 record. In 1933 Bowyer took over as the Florida Gators backfield coach after the departure of

Joe Holsinger Joe F. Holsinger (January 20, 1904 – August 16, 1946) was an American football, basketball, and golf player and coach. Holsinger was a star athlete for the Kansas State Wildcats. He was then a backfield coach under Charlie Bachman for the Florid ...

, his former backfield coach.

Death

Bowyer died on May 19, 1988.

Head coaching record

College football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowyer, Goof 1903 births 1988 deaths American football quarterbacks Florida Gators football players Florida Southern Moccasins athletic directors Florida Southern Moccasins football coaches Florida Southern Moccasins men's basketball coaches High school football coaches in Florida Lakeland High School (Lakeland, Florida) alumni Coaches of American football from Florida Players of American football from Gainesville, Florida Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Basketball coaches from Florida