Charles W. Bowser (November 29, 1898 – July 29, 1989) 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 wi ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

Grove City College Grove City College (GCC) is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1876 as a normal school, the college emphasizes a humanities core curriculum and offers 60 majors and 6 pre-profession ...

from 1924 to 1926, at Bowdoin College from 1930 to 1934, and at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

from 1939 to 1942, compiling a career college football record of 40–47–6.Charles W. Bowser
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved August 17, 2010.

Early life

Bowser was born in Ligonier, Pennsylvania and attended Johnstown High School, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

. He left high school as a senior, in April 1918, in order to enlist in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. From May 1918 to April 1919, he served overseas in the Ambulance Corps.New Panther Coach Has Varied Career in Athletics
''The Pittsburgh Press'', March 21, 1939. In 1919, Bowser enrolled at the

. That season, he played on the freshman football team under freshman coach Andy Kerr. The following year, he joined the varsity team under head coach

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

, and played at

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

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 ...

, tackle, and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. Bowser earned a

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

in 1922. He studied business administration and was a member of the

Beta Gamma Sigma Beta Gamma Sigma () is the International Business Honor Society. Founded in 1913 at the University of Wisconsin, University of Illinois and the University of California, it has over 980,000 members, selected from more than 600 collegiate chapters i ...

and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies.

Coaching career

Upon graduation from Pittsburgh, Bowser served as an assistant at

under Guy "Chalky" Williamson. After the 1923 season, Williamson left for the Pittsburgh football staff, and Bowser took over as Grove City head coach. The Grove City Crimson went 3–5–1 in his first season, but improved in the next two years. In 1925, they posted a 7–1 record, with the sole loss coming against

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. The next season, Grove City finished with a perfect 7–0 mark, including a 3–0 victory against Bo McMillin's

Geneva College Geneva College is a private Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional under ...

which defeated Harvard. In 1927, Bowser returned to Pittsburgh, to aid head coach

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

as the ends,

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column runs ...

s, and centers mentor. In 1930, Bowser took over as the head coach of Bowdoin College, a post he held through 1934. He was replaced by Adam Walsh, former captain of the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. Bowser then became assistant at Pitt again in 1935, and in 1937, he was promoted to the chief assistant position. After that season, he left the coaching ranks to work as an insurance agent in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. In 1939, Bowser returned to Pittsburgh as its head coach, and served in that position through the 1942 season. He resigned his post in January 1943 to take a commission in the United States Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Coach Bowser Seeks Navy Commission
''Daytona Beach Morning Journal'', January 23, 1943. He was replaced by

T formation In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a Formation (American football), formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about ...

innovator Clark Shaughnessy.

Later life and death

Bowser resided in

Royal Oak, Michigan Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236. Royal Oak is located along t ...

during the last 13 years. He died of heart failure there on July 29, 1989.Ex-Pitt Coach Bowser Passes Away
''Beaver County Times'', July 30, 1989.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowser, Charley 1898 births 1989 deaths American football centers American football ends American football quarterbacks American football tackles American businesspeople in insurance Bowdoin Polar Bears football coaches Grove City Wolverines football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football players United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers United States Navy officers Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Military personnel from Pennsylvania