Randolph T. V. Bowman (August 1, 1875 – April 14, 1899) was an instructor in forge and foundry at
Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina from February 1895 to April 1899, just after the college opened in 1889. He was best known for his association with college athletics, despite his own weak constitution, serving as the first
baseball coach
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...
and one of the first assistant
football coaches. He coached the very first intercollegiate match played at Clemson, a baseball game with
Furman University on April 24, 1896, which the Tigers lost 13–20.
Bowman died in April 1899 at his home in
Charlottesville, Virginia. He had apparently suffered from ill-health from his early years, and a tribute by President
Henry Simms Hartzog noted that "Though physically unable to take any considerable part in athletics, he helped
..by his counsel and presence." Just before his death, Bowman finished carving the commemorative plaques for Professor
Henry Aubrey Strode, Clemson College's first president, and Professor W. L. McGee, now displayed in Tillman Auditorium.
[ Hartzog, Henry Simms, "President Hartzog's Tribute", ''The Chronicle'', Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina, May 1899, Volume II, Number 8, page 346.] Bowman Field, Clemson's "front lawn", is named in his honor: Bowman is said to have personally cleared the former sedge field of rocks and other detritus so that it could be used as an athletics ground.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Randolph T. V.
1875 births
1899 deaths
Clemson Tigers baseball coaches
Clemson Tigers football coaches
Clemson University faculty