Boyd Hamilton Dowler (born October 18, 1937) is a former professional
football player, a
wide receiver in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
. He played 12 seasons from 1959 to 1971, 11 with the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...
and one with the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
.
Born in
Rock Springs, Wyoming
Rock Springs is a city in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 23,036 at the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state of Wyoming, and the most populous city in Sweetwater County. Rock Springs is ...
, Dowler grew up in
Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized tribe, federally recognize ...
, where his father Walter was a high school history teacher,
who was also a former football coach who had played college football at
Wyoming
Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...
.
Boyd was a three-sport athlete at
Cheyenne High School.
He played
college football at the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
as a
single-wing 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 ...
under head coach
Dal Ward.
Dowler led the
Big Seven conference in receiving as a junior in 1957, but spent more time as a passer and runner during his senior season.
[ While at ]Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, he was a member of Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapter ...
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
.
The 25th overall pick in the 1959 NFL Draft
The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the d ...
, Dowler was the NFL rookie of the year
Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...
in 1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...
's first season as head coach. Dowler was a two-time Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
er in 1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
and 1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...
, and a key contributor on the Packers dynasty in the 1960s, assisting the team to five NFL championship wins and victories in Super Bowls I and II.
A late hit by Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...
defensive back Mike Gaechter in the end zone following a third quarter touchdown catch resulted in a shoulder injury in the 1966 NFL Championship Game
The 1966 NFL Championship Game was the 34th NFL championship, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. It was the final game of the 1966 NFL season.
It determined the champion of the National Football League (NFL), which met the champion ...
. Dowler aggravated the shoulder early in the first quarter of the first Super Bowl two weeks later, allowing seldom-used Max McGee to be a significant contributor in the game with two touchdown catches. Dowler made a big impact the following year in Super Bowl II with a 62-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Bart Starr
Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Al ...
in the first half. He finished the game as the top receiver for the Packers, with two receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. Dowler is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
and the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
This is a list of National Football League (NFL) players who had outstanding performances throughout the 1960s and have been compiled together into this fantasy group. The team was selected by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the end of t ...
.
After eleven seasons with the Packers ending in 1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
, Dowler played one year for the Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
in 1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
. He had been acquired from the Packers for the Redskins' 1971 fifth-round pick (124th overall–Jim Stillwagon
James R. Stillwagon (February 11, 1949 – February 4, 2018) was an American football player who played five years in the Canadian Football League and was a two-time All-American during his college career.
Stillwagon was a three-year starter ...
) which had been obtained from the Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...
earlier on January 28, 1971. Dowler was on George Allen's coaching staff with the Rams in 1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...
and made the transition with him to Washington as a player-coach.
Dowler retired with a career record of 474 reception
Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to:
Astrology
* Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...
s for 7,270 yards and 40 touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...
s. He led the Packers in receptions for seven seasons.
Following his playing career, Dowler spent over 30 years working as an assistant coach and scout in the NFL. Notable positions that Dowler held included the passing game coordinator role for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1973-1975 and, his final stop, a scout for the Atlanta Falcons. Dowler retired as a scout in 2007.
References
External links
University of Colorado Athletics Hall of Fame
– Boyd Dowler
*
– college football statistics – Boyd Dowler
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowler, Boyd
1937 births
Living people
People from Rock Springs, Wyoming
Sportspeople from Cheyenne, Wyoming
Players of American football from Wyoming
American football punters
American football wide receivers
Cheyenne Central High School alumni
Colorado Buffaloes football players
Green Bay Packers players
Washington Redskins players
Western Conference Pro Bowl players