Urban M. Bowman Jr. (November 16, 1937 – February 25, 2018) was an American-Canadian

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player and coach who served as the interim head coach of the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

and

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

Early life

Bowman was born on November 16, 1937 in

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greate ...

. Bowman was an all-state tackle at Westminster High School. He attended the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

and played for their

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. After graduating in 1959, Bowman joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, where he won the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. During his youth, Bowman served as a waiter in the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

' dining room during training camp, which was held in his hometown of

Coaching career

Bowman began his coaching career in 1961 as a volunteer assistant for the Delaware freshman football team. A year later he received his first paid coaching position at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

. After serving as an assistant at

Lebanon Valley College Lebanon Valley College (LVC, Lebanon Valley, or The Valley) is a private college in Annville, Pennsylvania. History Lebanon Valley was founded on February 23, 1866, with classes beginning May 7 of that year and its first class graduating in 1870 ...

and

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

, Bowman left coaching to become Colorado State's assistant

Athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

. He decided to return to coaching the following year and contacted

head

Al Dorow Albert Richard Dorow (November 15, 1929 – December 7, 2009) was an American gridiron football quarterback. He played college football at Michigan State University and professionally in the National Football League (NFL), the American Footb ...

to inquire about any possible coaching vacancies. Due to an ongoing dispute with Team President

Ralph Sazio Ralph Joseph Sazio (July 22, 1922 – September 25, 2008) was a football player, assistant coach, head coach general manager and team president for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also served as president of the Toronto Argonauts. He is a member of ...

over the hiring and firing of assistant coaches, Dorow decided to hire whomever the next applicant for the coaching position and Bowman was hired on the spot. He was let go after one season and joined the coaching staff of the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

as a Defensive Line coach. Bowman left coaching again in 1974, but later returned as an assistant at Bemidji State. He returned to the CFL in 1985 as the Defensive Line and Special Teams Coach of the

. He left the Bombers in 1989 to become the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

' Offensive Line Coach, but returned to Winnipeg in 1991. In 1992, Bowman was named the Blue Bombers' interim head coach after head coach

Cal Murphy Cal Murphy (March 12, 1932 – February 18, 2012) was a Canadian football coach, general manager and scout, most notably for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. In his career as a coach and/or general manager, he led ...

had to undergo Heart transplant surgery. He would lead the Winnipeg to an 11-7 record and a first-place finish in the Eastern Division. The Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 59-11 in the Division Final, but lost to the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

24-10 in the

80th Grey Cup The 80th Grey Cup was the 1992 Canadian Football League championship game played between the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Toronto's SkyDome. The Stampeders had little trouble defeating the Blue Bombers, 24–10. Game sum ...

. Murphy returned in 1993 and Bowman moved to his prior position as Defensive Line and Special Teams Coach. In 1995, he joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as Assistant Head Coach. In 1997, he was promoted to interim head coach after

Don Sutherin Don Paul "Suds" Sutherin (February 29, 1936 – January 11, 2022) was a Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) defensive back and placekicker. He is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (1992). Playing care ...

was fired. The Tiger-Cats would win only one of their remaining eleven games and Bowman was let go at the end of season. Bowman spent the 1998 season as the defensive line coach at

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is a campus of Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and it is located it in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the campus' total enrollment is 1,6 ...

. After a battle with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

, Bowman returned to Mansfield the following year as offensive line coach. In 2000, Bowman joined the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

as special teams coach for the final seven games of the season. During the 2004 season, Bowman joined the Blue Bombers as special teams coach. He rejoined the Winnipeg coaching staff midway through the following season when linebackers coach

Rod Rust Rod, Ror, Ród, Rőd, Rød, Röd, ROD, or R.O.D. may refer to: Devices * Birch rod, made out of twigs from birch or other trees for corporal punishment * Ceremonial rod, used to indicate a position of authority * Connecting rod, main, couplin ...

left the team to attend to personal matters.

Coaching record

Personal life

Bowman's first wife died in 1973. He remarried, to second wife Cindy. Bowman became a citizen of Canada in 1995. In 2009, Bowman was inducted into the Carroll County Sports Hall of Fame.

Death

On February 25, 2018, the Blue Bombers announced that Bowman had died earlier that day, from

. He was 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Urban 1937 births 2018 deaths Naturalized citizens of Canada Bemidji State Beavers football coaches Colorado State Rams football coaches Dayton Flyers football coaches Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football coaches Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen football coaches Mansfield Mounties football coaches Military personnel from Maryland Ottawa Rough Riders coaches People from Westminster, Maryland Players of American football from Maryland Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches