Bob Cowan

Robert George Cowan (January 2, 1923 – January 20, 2004) was an American football halfback who played three seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) between 1947 and 1949. Cowan played for the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts.

Cowan was a standout track and football athlete at his Fort Wayne, Indiana high school. He attended Indiana University and starred as a halfback for two years, interrupted by service in the Army Air Force during World War II. Cowan joined the Browns in 1947, when the team won the AAFC championship. Cleveland won all of its games in 1948 and beat the Buffalo Bills in the championship game. Cowan was sent to the Colts for the 1949 season, but he was slowed by a knee injury and left the game a year later. He became a high school principal in Fort Wayne after his playing career.

High school and college career

Cowan grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was a star athlete at the city's North Side High School. Cowan also played basketball at Indiana, and was spotted during a state tournament in 1941 by Blanton Collier, who went on to become an assistant coach for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). After the war, he returned to Indiana and played part of the 1946 season at right halfback. The war delayed his professional career, however, and he signed in 1947 with the Browns, who selected him in the 1947 AAFC Draft. He was sent to the Baltimore Colts before the 1949 season. Bothered by a knee injury, Cowan left football after a year in Baltimore.

Later life and death

Cowan returned to Fort Wayne after his playing career and became a high school principal. ·He retired from the Fort Wayne Community Schools as Personnel Director after 30 years of service. He died in 2004.