KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Former Western Michigan football letterman Bob Rowe has been inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.
 
Rowe lettered three seasons (1964-65-66) as a defensive tackle for the Broncos, playing for head coach Bill Doolittle. A native of Flint, Mich., Rowe was selected as the Mid-American Conference Lineman of the Year in 1965 and 1966. He collected 211 tackles during his final two seasons as a Bronco.
 
The 1966 WMU squad finished 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the MAC to tie for the league title. Rowe was a co-captain and received the team's Most Outstanding Player award for the second consecutive season. After the season, Rowe was named an Associated Press Second Team All-America. He represented Western Michigan in the 1966 East-West Shrine Bowl and the College All-Star Game.
 
Rowe was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 43rd pick overall, 17th in the second round, of the 1967 NFL Draft. He went on to have a nine-year career with the Cardinals, from 1967-75. He played in 122 games, starting 111, and amassed 53.5 career sacks, which did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982. Rowe tallied 5.5 sacks in 1968 and 24.5 in his final three seasons, including 9.5 in 1973. He also had 9.5 blocked kicks in his career, including three blocked field goals in one 1972 game against the Baltimore Colts, which earned him an AP Defensive Player of the Week Award.


 
Rowe was inducted into the WMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1977.  In October of 2019, Flushing (Mich.) Community Schools and the Flushing Athletic Department honored Rowe with a ceremony to recognize his career in the NFL and unveiled a ceremonial plaque, which is permanently on display at the Raider Field concession stand.
 
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