Former Broncos Rod Smith, Terrell Davis Talk About Pat Bowlen's Legacy At Boys & Girls Club
DENVER (CBS4)- The late Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen will be remembered for more than the team's success or his involvement with the players. He also made a deep impact on Colorado with his work with charities.
Bowlen helped change the lives of thousands of children through his work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. One of those locations in Commerce City named the field after Bowlen as a tribute to his service to the organization.
Two former Denver Broncos players, Rod Smith and Terrell Davis, were in Denver's Montbello neighborhood on Friday for an event. It was the same Boys & Girls Club location where Bowlen helped break ground in 2003.
"I grew up in the Boys & Girls Clubs. This was a place I came every summer," said Smith.
He and Davis planned to be at the club to promote a book, but they couldn't help talking to the children about the man who created the space they were sitting in.
"He was really invested in these kids. He was really invested in this neighborhood and for me, you don't forget stuff like that. It reminds me, your never too big to give back but it's not really giving back when it's just a part of who you are and that's who Pat Bowlen is," said Smith.
Both Smith and Davis won two back-to-back Super Bowls under Bowlen's ownership and both agree his involvement in the team and the way he cared for his players, was instrumental in their careers.
"He cared about you. He had a genuine concern about you and your family and he could separate the business from the personal side and that really made a difference in my life and so it's a sad day but it's a time to celebrate the man's life," said Davis.
The former pros recall that Bowlen was never one to take credit, but always one to take care of them and his community.
"I don't think there's enough adjectives to describe how great of a man Pat Bowlen truly was and that to me, that's the biggest testament about anybody. Forget, you know, were they a good player or a good owner, how good of a person are they and Pat Bowlen was the best," said Davis.
They told the children that it wasn't time to be sad, but to celebrate the legacy that Bowlen left behind.