On that evening in 1992, Bowden briefly pulled his team leader from the field, sending the backup quarterback into the game. When Bowden signaled for Ward to return, fans jeered. But Bowden knew this was an opportunity to make a difference, both in the life of his struggling player and for his football team.
Ward, FSU’s first African-American starting quarterback, came back into the game in the fourth quarter, his team trailing by two touchdowns. To take advantage of Ward’s athleticism, Bowden made some mid-game changes in the offense. Buoyed by those changes and his coach’s faith, Ward led FSU to three touchdowns in that last quarter and a dramatic 29-24 win. The victory assured FSU of the conference championship.
“That was one of those moments when you know that your choice will make a difference in a lot of ways. I can’t tell you I thought it would turn out as it did, but it did turn out pretty well. We all have to have a reason to get up each day. Those young men give me mine."
With more than five decades’ experience as a coach, Bowden has sought to build leaders on and off the field. Without question, he says, his commitment to making a difference in the lives of each athlete contributes to his desire to show up each fall as leader of one of America’s preeminent football programs. Even as he turns 80 in November, an age when most of his peers are enjoying retirement, Bowden’s passion for building young leaders burns as strong as his competitive spirit.
Back in 1992, when FSU was losing to Georgia Tech, Bowden says “allowing Charlie to take control of that team even when things weren’t going well really allowed him to grow and it allowed the other players to grow. This game is won on the field, so we needed his growth to make the whole team more successful.”
Charlie Ward went on to win the Heisman Trophy the next season and lead FSU to its first-ever national championship. A point guard on the university’s basketball team, he chose an NBA career over playing in the NFL, and was a first-round pick of the New York Knicks. After retiring from the NBA, he became a high school coach in Houston. Ward has sought to instill lessons he learned from Bowden in his own players.
“When Coach Bowden took that chance at Georgia Tech, it gave me the confidence I needed,” Ward says. “If he had decided to keep me on the bench—and I couldn’t have argued, given how I was playing—I doubt that I would have been the same quarterback I became. Coaches have the chance to shape people in moments like that and he definitely changed my future.”
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