A Look Back At The Life Of Denver Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen
The Denver Broncos announced Friday that Pat Bowlen passed away at the age of 75 on June 13.
DENVER (CBS) - It was March of 1984 when Pat Bowlen (1944-2019) burst onto the scene in Colorado. He was just 40 years old and had just bought the majority stake in the Denver Broncos.
Patrick Dennis Bowlen was pretty much an unknown back then. News reports of the day described him as a Canadian oilman, his fortune built on oil and gas and real estate.
"I consider Denver by far to be the best choice for me," he told Broncos fans. "If I had my choice of any of the 28 teams in the NFL, it would be Denver every time."
Despite a Super Bowl appearance in 1977, Bowlen's new team was hardly an NFL powerhouse.
But a perfect storm was brewing. Under the determined new owner, the team hired a respected head coach, Dan Reeves, and acquired a hotshot young quarterback by the name of John Elway. Pat Bowlen's Broncos were about to take off.
The 1980s would be remembered for three Super Bowl trips in just four years.
The magic all began on a Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. Elway led "The Drive" in the AFC Championship game in 1987, and Bowlen led the celebration as the team headed to its second Super Bowl.
The Broncos were now among the NFL's elite but still not champions.
That would change in the next decade, starting with a new head coach, Mike Shanahan.
"Mike Shanahan will have full control over football operations," was how Bowlen introduced him. "Thank God, that's what I want him to do."
As Shanahan got the Broncos back on track and the team in place for future titles, Bowlen's reputation grew in the league.
Bowlen's business acumen made him a star, not just in the front office but in the boardrooms of New York as well. As a member of the NFL's most powerful committees, Bowlen would help shape the future of professional football. Record-breaking TV deals and years of labor peace were just some of the accomplishments.
By 1997, Bowlen's football team was firing on all cylinders as Elway continued to perform at an elite level and Shanahan's reconfigured offense was seeing great success.
This time the trio took the Broncos to Super Bowl XXXII, the Lombardi Trophy and the four most iconic words in Colorado sports history as Bowlen declared, "This one's for John."
"It's historic. I mean, this is huge, it's the first time the Denver Broncos have won the Super Bowl. Hopefully there are many more but this is number one," Bowlen told reporters on the field.
Bowlen's Broncos were the toast of the NFL and a season later, they would do it again. Elway would retire after Super Bowl XXXIII, but not Bowlen. He pushed into yet another decade.
Pushing on did not bring the same success. Ultimately Bowlen would fire his close friend Mike Shanahan, only to hire and then fire Josh McDaniels.
His franchise was reeling by but Bowlen was not. And in 2011 he turned to a familiar face for help, hiring John Elway to the front office.
"I think John will return this team to a very high level of competitiveness. I think we'll win some more Super Bowls," is what Bowlen told Colorado when he made the hire.
Elway's return would be the kickstart to Bowlen's final successes.
Head coach John Fox steadied the Broncos and got them back to the Super Bowl, but it was Gary Kubiak who lead the team to the next Super Bowl.
But during the two coaches' runs, there was an unexpected game changer -- Peyton Manning.
"Peyton is one of the best ever to play this game," Bowlen said. "And I feel very fortunate to have him here."
The introduction of Manning would be the last time Bowlen stood behind the podium at the Broncos headquarters. His once regular appearances at practices had dwindled, becoming the exception rather than the rule.
Rumors had swirled for years that his health was in decline. In 2014, the whispers became reality as it was officially announced that he had Alzheimer's disease.
"He obviously can't do what he used to do," is how Vice President of Business Joe Ellis broke the news. "He has stepped down completely from his duties. He didn't walk through the door this morning and that's hard for people."
After 30 seasons, Bowlen's franchise would have to move on without him. The one constant since 1984, he was now sidelined.
In 2015, the Broncos Ring of Fame Bowlen created added his name, but he wasn't be there for the ceremony.
Months later, he would miss Super Bowl 50 as well.
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The game was a return to glory for the Broncos. And while Bowlen was not there, his presence was felt as Elway echoed those famous words, "This one's for Pat."
In 2018, in a cruel twist of fate, Bowlen's wife Annabel Bowlen announced that she also had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Then in 2019, Bowlen was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor. His children represented him in Atlanta in February at the NFL Honors when the Class of 2019 was announced.
Pat Bowlen, like his football team, grew to legendary status. His arrival so many years ago transformed not just a franchise but a community.
PHOTO GALLERY: Denver Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen (1944-2019)
