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

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
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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 (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

Early life

Bowman was born on November 16, 1937, in

Westminster, Maryland Westminster is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The city's population was 19,960 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Westminster is an outlying community in the Baltimore metropolitan area, whic ...

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

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

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 primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, where he won the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

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 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

' 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 university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

. After serving as an assistant at Lebanon Valley College and Colorado State, 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 a ...

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

head Al Dorow to inquire about any possible coaching vacancies. Due to an ongoing dispute with team president Ralph Sazio over the hiring and firing of assistant coaches, Dorow decided to hire whoever the next applicant for the coaching position was, 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 Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

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 on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

' 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 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 (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

24-10 in the 80th Grey Cup. 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 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. After a battle with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, 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 based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

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 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 Sportspeople from Carroll County, Maryland Players of American football from Maryland Purdue Boilermakers football coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaches