Longtime Bakersfield College Football coach Carl Bowser died earlier this week. In the wake of his passing, 23ABC spoke with community members and former players to learn about who he was as a person.
- According to the Kern County Sports Hall of Fame, Bowser had an 83-31-3 record at BC across eleven seasons, capped off by a national championship victory over Fullerton College in 1988.
- 23ABC spoke with former players Stan Greene ('87-88) and Ken Calvin ('94-95), and former Bakersfield Californian photographer John Harte about Bowser's tenure at the helm of the Renegades. While many positive things were said about Bowser through the several interviews conducted, the one thing that stood out was Bowser's ability to impact people in a positive way.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
For decades, Carl Bowser was a household name in the Bakersfield area, I'm Sam Hoyle, your Shafter neighborhood reporter. According to his Kern County Sports Hall of Fame biography, Bowser's 11-season record of 83-31-3 at Bakersfield College, included one national championship, in 1988, six Western State Conference titles, and seven Potato Bowl appearances.
However, while that may be what Bowser's known for best, his coaching career started elsewhere in Kern County. According to an article posted by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's athletic Department interviewing Bowser, he got his start in the high school ranks at Burroughs High School in Ridgecrest, before heading out west to lead the Shafter High School Generals for a year in 1966. A season later, Bowser was hired as an assistant at Bakersfield College on Gerry Collis' staff, and from there Bowser's legacy began.
In talking with community members and former players, over his tenure as an assistant and head coach for the Renegades, it's clear to see the impact Bowser made on the community. but the scope according to former quarterback Stan Greene was mountainous.
"You'd like to say that he had an impact on my life, and the reality is he did, but the fact of the matter is he had that impact on everyone and I really saw it at our 30th reunion with players walking up and the things they said to him and I'm like, "I thought I was the special one?" you know? but that's what made him so great, is everybody was special," said Greene.
Ken Calvin, who played for BC in 1994 and 1995, said while he only played under Bowser for one year, Calvin credits him for who he is today.
"He was a molder of men, I get goosebumps as I say it because I have older friends and people that I look up to and he changed their lives," said Calvin. "I would not be the man I am without him."
And it wasn't just his players, it truly was everybody, john harte worked as a photographer for the Bakersfield Californian from 1981 to 2009, the bulk of Bowser's tenure. Over his time on the sidelines Harte noted that in his eyes, Bowser was one of the greats when it came to being a good person.
"knowing the nature of some coaches, Carl Bowser was just a delight, he was just a really, really nice man," says Harte.
It's unclear if BC has any plans to honor Bowser during the upcoming season, but as more information becomes available, we'll update this story.
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