ATLANTA — Pat Bowlen, Hall of Famer.
Sounds just right.
On Saturday, Mr. Bowlen officially added that label to his name, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced.
Bowlen’s election into the Hall of Fame — while many would argue was well overdue — was certainly earned in multiple different respects.
On the field, the Broncos’ accomplishments under Bowlen were nearly unprecedented.
Since 1984 — the year Pat bought the team from Edgar Kaiser — the Denver Broncos have been among the most successful sports franchises in all professional North American sports.
In Pat’s 35 seasons as the team’s owner, through the most recent 2018 season, his Broncos averaged over 10 wins per year, compiling a 59.59 win percentage to go along with 354 total wins.
Bowlen was the first owner to accumulate 300 wins in his first 30 seasons, and he’s the only owner to reach the Super Bowl with four different head coaches.
In the 35 seasons under Pat’s ownership, the Broncos made the playoffs 18 times, which is more than the 17 times in which they missed the playoffs. The Broncos also have the same number of Super Bowl appearances (seven) as losing seasons (seven) under Bowlen.
In total, Denver has racked up three Super Bowl titles, seven Super Bowl appearances, 18 playoff appearances and 13 division titles under Mr. B.
Off the field, Pat was just as impactful helping the NFL grow to the dominant sport that it is today.
Bowlen served on 15 different NFL committees, the third-most ever for an owner, and was instrumental in creating Sunday Night Football.
Additionally, the Broncos have sold out every single home game during Bowlen’s tenure.
Due to all of these accomplishments, there wasn’t much doubt that Pat would officially be elected into the Hall of Fame in 2019 after he was selected as one of the two contributor nominees back on Aug. 23, 2018.
This isn’t the only Hall of Fame Bowlen is in, either. He was elected into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Broncos Ring of Fame in 2015 as well.
When Mr. B. bought the team in 1984, he was the principal owner and CEO until 2014, when Alzheimer’s forced him to take a step back from the everyday duties of the job. At that time, he gave the CEO duties to Joe Ellis. Pat remains the owner to this day.
Bowlen, and the other members of the 2019 class, will officially be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton at the beginning of August.
