Rick Bowman Author

Rick Bowman grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, as a first-generation Ohioan. When his father and mother moved to Ohio in the early 1950s from Virginia and Tennessee, respectively, he and his older brother, Bill, became football-fandom free agents. With the hometown Cleveland games often blacked out on local television, Rick began rooting for the Minnesota Vikings and the Purple People Eaters. (Bill chose Saint Louis.) Both boys fell in love with their hard-luck teams, with Rick often suffering playoff heartbreaks on or near his birthday: December 28. (It was on that date in 1975 that the Vikings lost the infamous “Hail Mary" game.)

Undaunted, Rick went on to become a lifelong Vikings fan and an accomplished sportswriter for many years. After earning a BA from the University of Akron, he wrote award-winning features about football hall-of-famers and more. A former high school and collegiate player, Rick specializes in professional-football history, particularly the era in which he grew up: the 1960s and 1970s. Now a full-time pastor, Rick lives in Akron with his wife of more than 30 years. They raised two daughters, both of whom are teachers.