James L. (Goofy) Bowdoin (January 15, 1904 – May 11, 1969) was an

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

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for seven years, primarily 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, where he won two national championships. Bowdoin also had professional stints with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, Portsmouth Spartans, and two separate seasons with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

Early life and education

Bowdoin was born on January 15, 1904 in Coffee Springs, Alabama. He attended Elba High School in Alabama. While at Elba, he played football and became an all-state player. He then went to the University of Alabama for his university education. He played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

to 1927 season. He was on the starting roster in the

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

season and lettered in 1927. While he was playing for the Crimson Tide, they won the college football season in the

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 (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

and 1926 seasons. In the 1927 Rose Bowl, he came on as a substitute and won the game for his team after blocking a punt that would have won the game for the opposing team, the Stanford Cardinals. He played as a halfback and a fullback for the university.

Professional career

Bowdoin was signed to the

in the

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

season, and won three NFL championship until he left the team in the 1931 season on August 1, 1931. While playing for the team he worked as a for a road construction company along with teammates Claude Perry and

Johnny "Blood" McNally John Victor McNally (November 27, 1903 – November 28, 1985), nicknamed "Johnny Blood", was an American professional football player and coach. McNally was named a member of the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team and was inducted into the Pro Football H ...

. He was bought by the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

from the Packers after a deal between Packer's coach

Curly Lambeau Earl Louis "Curly" Lambeau ( ; April 9, 1898 – June 1, 1965) was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). Lambeau, along with his friend and fellow Green Bay, Wisconsin native, George Whitney ...

and Dodgers manager

Benny Friedman Benjamin Friedman (March 18, 1905 – November 24, 1982) was an American football player and coach, and athletics administrator. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Friedman played college football as a halfback and quarterback for the University of ...

. He was appointed assistant coach during his time there. He was released the same year. He was then signed by the New York Giants in

on November 2, 1932, one day after being released by the Dodgers. He then played for the Portsmouth Spartans in the 1933 season. He left after that and then signed to the Dodgers again for the 1934 season. He then retired later that season. He wore number 19 in 1928, 32 from 1929 to 1930, 24 in 1931, 16 and 55 in 1932, 46 in 1933, and 5 in 1934. He was 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 227 pounds. He played as a guard.

Personal life

Bowdoin's nickname was Goofy. He was married to Louise Akard and had a daughter named La-Vonda who was born in May 1960. After graduating from Alabama in June 1957, he went back to his old high school, Elba to work as a coach until 1958. He later became the track and

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and full ...

coach for the Tennessee High Vikings, from the autumn of 1958 until his resignation on June 28, 1960. He was also a

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

teacher at the school. He resigned to pursue a career in his father-in-law's funeral home. He died on May 11, 1969 in Mobile, Alabama, aged 65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowdoin, Jim 1904 births 1969 deaths People from Geneva County, Alabama American football offensive guards Green Bay Packers players Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players New York Giants players Providence Steam Roller players Alabama Crimson Tide football players All-Southern college football players 20th-century American sportsmen