No. 17, 80 | |||||||
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Position: | Halfback | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. | January 2, 1923||||||
Died: | January 20, 2004 Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S. | (aged 81)||||||
Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 185 lb (84 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | North Side (Fort Wayne, Indiana) | ||||||
College: | Indiana | ||||||
NFL draft: | 1945 / round: 12 / pick: 111 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
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Robert George Cowan (January 2, 1923 – January 20, 2004) was an American football halfback who played three seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) between 1947 and 1949. Cowan played for the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Colts.
Cowan was a standout track and football athlete at his Fort Wayne, Indiana high school. He attended Indiana University and starred as a halfback for two years, interrupted by service in the Army Air Force during World War II. Cowan joined the Browns in 1947, when the team won the AAFC championship. Cleveland won all of its games in 1948 and beat the Buffalo Bills in the championship game. Cowan was sent to the Colts for the 1949 season, but he was slowed by a knee injury and left the game a year later. He became a high school principal in Fort Wayne after his playing career.