Longtime Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen passed away Thursday at age 75 after having a protracted fight with Alzheimer’s disease.
Super Bowl-winning quarterback Peyton Manning shared the Bowlen’s drive to win convinced him to sign with Denver after his time Indianapolis ended. Manning voiced his gratitude to the late owner in a statement issued Saturday.
“My deepest sympathies go out to the total Bowlen family,” Manning said. “I met Mr. Bowlen for the first time once I played for the Indianapolis Colts and that I was over in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl if he was there in his Hawaiian home. I saw him several times during the years and had short, brief conversations with him that I really enjoyed.
“Coming to play for Denver, though his health was falling, I did enjoy a couple of discussions with Mr. Bowlen. I was here a lot in the offseason. As soon as I signed with the Broncos, I was basically living in the centre — analyzing film, rehabbing and exercising. I was usually one of the last to depart the facility during this time. I say,’I thought I was the last to depart,’ but Mr. Bowlen was still there. He would usually be in the practice area on the elliptical, and I would go in there and have discussions with him. He had been asking me when we found a place to live yet, and I recall once I told him we discovered a place to call home, he said he used to live right near there, and we talked a little about that. Just short, brief conversations, and I enjoyed that time .
“It was an honour to perform Mr. Bowlen’s business, as I’ve said several occasions. I always had great respect for the Denver Broncos during my time playing with the Colts competing against his or her organization. So a lot of the credit goes to Pat Bowlen and his wish to be the best and to win. That had a lot to do with me enrolling with the Denver Broncos — that I understood Mr. Bowlen was about winning and I knew the people he had hired could carry on that tradition and heritage. It was a fantastic choice to come play here — we live here today. I’m grateful for Mr. Bowlen and the heritage that he’s created with the Broncos, at the NFL and surely in this Denver community. Many will miss him. It was an honour to understand Mr. Bowlen and also a true pleasure to have played for his team — the Denver Broncos.”
Bowlen will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame together with the 2019 class this August in Canton, Ohio.
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