Legendary Howard coach Henry Bowles remembered fondly

Nov 16, 2010--Coach Henry Bowles stands in Howard School of Academics andTechnology on Tuesday afternoon.
Nov 16, 2010--Coach Henry Bowles stands in Howard School of Academics andTechnology on Tuesday afternoon.
photo Former Howard coach Henry Bowles became a legend both for his success on the basketball court, where he led the Hustlin' Tigers to 616 wins in a 29-year career, and as a role model in the community.

Countless stories - decades of memories collected by thousands of people whose lives he touched - began being swapped early Sunday morning as news spread that legendary Howard High School coach Henry Bowles had died.

Surrounded by family, including his wife of more than 50 years, Joyce Anne, the 80-year old Bowles passed away in the early morning hours after a lengthy illness.

From visitors to his home, prayer requests for the family at numerous churches and across social media, Sunday was a time for fond memories to be shared about one of the city's most beloved figures.

"If I had a second life, I would play under him again," said Dank Hawkins, a point guard at Howard from 1974 to '76. "Besides my father, Coach Bowles was a personal role model for me. He was so structured and disciplined, exactly what most young men need. He spent more time with us kids who played for him than he did his own family.

"God chooses some people for certain jobs. He was chosen to coach."

The word legend is often overused, but that label certainly applied to Bowles, who coached at his alma mater for 39 years, including 29 as boys' basketball coach. He compiled a 616-260 overall record and guided the Hustlin' Tigers to the state tournament an astounding 16 times, with runner-up finishes in 1972 and 1984. The '72 team lost just five games, all to Riverside, including in the state title game.

At the time of his resignation in 1998, he had the second-most wins in state history.

"Henry Bowles was Howard High School," former TSSAA executive director Ronnie Carter said. "Not just in basketball, but in everything about that school and community. He was much bigger than the game.

"To me, he represents the heart and soul of the Chattanooga sports community."

Noted for the burgundy sports jacket he wore on the sideline, Bowles was a fierce competitor with a sharp wit. He was even known to argue with fans - as the game was being played on the court - who heckled him or his team from the stands. One such story: With Howard trailing late and having possession, a Hustlin' Tigers fan shouted for the player to shoot the ball. Bowles, who had instructed his players to hold the ball until they got the best shot, turned to the stands and yelled, "Would you all shut up!"

"His personality made him one of the real characters in coaching," said veteran referee Joe Scruggs, who worked the game in which Bowles earned his 600th win. "He got frustrated one time and threw a towel at me on the floor. I stopped the game, wiped the sweat off my face with the towel, handed it back to him and then gave him a technical for throwing it. He thought that was pretty funny.

"He was a great coach, and you wanted to earn his respect."

Bowles' teams won 13 district championships, including a 62-game district winning streak in the 1980s, and 10 region titles. He averaged 23 wins per season for his career and was inducted into the TSSAA Hall of Fame in 2003.

The old Howard gym was named for him, and when the school built a new gym, that honor was carried over.

"If they had a Mount Rushmore of coaches in Tennessee high school, he'd be on it," Baylor coach Austin Clark said. "Not just for wins, but for being a molder of young men and how he treated others. He was a true southern gentleman and a competitor.

"When I started coaching (in 1982), you had the Henry Bowles and Robert Highs in the city, real icons in Chattanooga. He mentored me and was one of my true friends. My heart goes out to him and his family."

After graduating from Howard, Bowles attended Lane College in Jackson, Tenn., where he played football for four seasons. His coaching career began in 1959 at Howard Junior High, where he worked for 10 years and coached all four sports the school offered: football, baseball, basketball and track.

He later coached cross country and girls' softball at the varsity level and became the school's athletic director. He led the track team to a state title despite having only eight athletes. Among the notable athletes who played for him were the late Reggie White, who would become an NFL Hall of Famer, and Johnny Taylor, who later played in the NBA.

Former Brainerd coach Robert High, also a Howard alum, would become one of the few local coaches to surpass Bowles' accomplishments. The two developed a healthy rivalry for many years.

"The first time we coached against each other, he told me before the game, 'Boy, I'm going to teach you about this game.' And he did," High said. "There are so many things about him that I admired. You don't do something for as long as he did unless you really love it. He loved working with those kids.

"Look at the number of schools around the state who have never even made it to the state tournament, and then compare that with how many times he got there. It's amazing. As far as I'm concerned, he's the greatest coach who ever set foot in Howard's gym."

In 1969 Bowles was approached about taking over the Hustlin' Tigers varsity basketball program on an interim basis, with the promise that if he took it he would be offered the head football coach's job the next year. He declined the offer initially but was quickly convinced by the players to change his mind.

"I agreed to do it for only one year," Bowles said in a 2003 interview with the Times Free Press. "The kids promised if I would come back after that first year that we would make it to the state tournament. So I did, and we did, and it turned out to have many more thrills and memories than I could have hoped for."

Final funeral arrangements had not been completed as of Sunday evening, but the family will receive friends at Coach Bowles' home at 5121 Lantana Lane after noon any day this week.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.

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