J. Philip Bower

J. Philip Bowers
Biographical details
Born	October 22, 1894; Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Died	July 11, 1975 (aged 80); Vergennes, Vermont, U.S.
Alma mater	Middlebury College; Dartmouth College
Playing career
Football
1915–1916	Middlebury
1918–1920	Dartmouth
1921	Cleveland Indians
Ice hockey
1918–1921	Dartmouth
Baseball
1919–1920	Dartmouth
Position	Quarterback/Defenseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Ice hockey
1924–1926	Williams
1926–1933	Dartmouth
Baseball
1926	Williams
Head coaching record
Overall	58–50–6 (.535)
Accomplishments and honors
Records
Military career
Buried	Mount Pleasant Cemetery; Arlington, Massachusetts, U.S.
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Service years	1917–1918

James Philip Bower (October 22, 1894 – July 12, 1975) was an American athlete and coach who played for the Cleveland Indians of the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League) in 1921 and was the head men's ice hockey coach at Williams College (1924–1926) and Dartmouth College (1926–1933).

Career

Bower was born on October 22, 1894 in Richmond, Virginia.^[1] He attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts and helped lead the hockey team to the 1913 Interscholastic Hockey League championship.^[2] He then attended the Worcester Academy, where he was a letterman in baseball, football and ice hockey.^[3]

Bower attended Middlebury College for two years and was captain-elect of the 1917 football team.^[4] However, he suspended his studies to enlist in the Army during World War I. After the war, Bower enrolled at Dartmouth College. During his time in Hanover, Bower was a multi-sport star for the Greens, serving as the quarterback for the football team and a defenseman on the ice hockey team. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1921.^[5]

Bower played five games for the Cleveland Indians of the American Professional Football Association during the 1921 season.^[1]

In 1924, he was hired as the third head coach for Williams hockey team and guided the team for two seasons. He also coached the Williams baseball team for one season (1926).^[6] After a stellar sophomore campaign that saw the Ephs finish 12–5–1, Bower returned to his alma mater as the head coach for the Dartmouth hockey team. In his first year behind the Indians' bench, he nearly led the program to its first championship, finishing in second only to Harvard. In 1929, he was also hired as an assistant professor by the university. A few solid but underwhelming seasons followed before the great depression hit and severely impacted the team. In the early 30's, Dartmouth was a shell of its former self and posted losing seasons every year. After going winless against Harvard and Yale for four consecutive seasons, Bower resigned from his post in 1933.^[7]

Personal life and death

Bower married Irene Carroll.^[8] Towards the end of his life, he lived in Addison, Vermont. He died following an automobile accident on July 12, 1975, aged 80. He was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Arlington, Massachusetts.^[8]

Head coaching record

Record table
Season	Team	Overall
Williams Ephs Independent (1924–1926)
1924–25	Williams	4–4–0
1925–26	Williams	12–5–1
Williams:		16–9–1
Dartmouth Indians Independent (1926–1933)
1926–27	Dartmouth	11–2–2
1927–28	Dartmouth	6–4–0
1928–29	Dartmouth	9–5–3
1929–30	Dartmouth	5–8–0
1930–31	Dartmouth	5–8–0
1931–32	Dartmouth	4–6–0
1932–33	Dartmouth	2–8–0
Dartmouth:		42–41–5
Total:		58–50–6
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

References

1 2 "Phil Bower". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
↑ "Arlington H. S. Wins The Title". The Boston Globe. March 20, 1913.
↑ "J. P. Bower is Selected to Coach Hockey Team". The Williams Record. December 13, 1924. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
↑ "Middlebury Names Bower". The Pittsburgh Press. December 13, 1916. Retrieved June 5, 2026.
↑ "Dartmouth 2009–10 Men's Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). Dartmouth Big Green. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
↑ "Arthur Fox to Coach Baseball at Williams". Evening Tribune. June 11, 1926. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
↑ "BOWER RESIGNS AS COACH.; Dartmouth Hockey Mentor Not to Return Next Year". The New York Times. March 11, 1933. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
1 2 "Philip Bower". The Boston Globe. July 14, 1975. p. 33. Retrieved February 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[PFR-1] 1 2 "Phil Bower". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 4, 2026.

[2] "Arlington H. S. Wins The Title". The Boston Globe. March 20, 1913.

[3] "J. P. Bower is Selected to Coach Hockey Team". The Williams Record. December 13, 1924. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

[4] "Middlebury Names Bower". The Pittsburgh Press. December 13, 1916. Retrieved June 5, 2026.

[5] "Dartmouth 2009–10 Men's Hockey Media Guide" (PDF). Dartmouth Big Green. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

[6] "Arthur Fox to Coach Baseball at Williams". Evening Tribune. June 11, 1926. Retrieved May 18, 2026.

[7] "BOWER RESIGNS AS COACH.; Dartmouth Hockey Mentor Not to Return Next Year". The New York Times. March 11, 1933. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

[obit-8] 1 2 "Philip Bower". The Boston Globe. July 14, 1975. p. 33. Retrieved February 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

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v t e Williams Ephs men's ice hockey
Venues	Cole Field House Pond (1902–1953) Lansing Chapman Rink (1953–present)
Coaches	Russell Barkell (1922–1923) Ralph Cordingly (1923–1924) J. Philip Bower (1924–1926) Leo Bellerose (1926–1929) Alex Sayles (1929–1932) A. Barr Snively (1932–1942, 1945–1949) Frank Bell (1949–1952, 1953–1954) Bill McCormick (1954–1989) Bill Kangas (1989–2017, 2018–present) Mike Monti (2017–2018)
Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
Conference affiliations	Tri-State League (1950–1952) ECAC Hockey (1961–1964) ECAC 2 (1964–1984) ECAC East (1984–1999) NESCAC (1999–present)
Rivalries	Amherst Wesleyan
All-time leaders	Tom Roe (227 Points) Tom Roe (128 Goals) David Haimson (59 Wins)
NCAA Tournament appearances	2016
Williams College Williamstown, MA

v t e Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey
Formerly the Dartmouth Indians
Venues	Occom pond (1905–1929) Davis Rink (1929–1975) Thompson Arena (1975–present)
Coaches	No coach (1905–08) John Eames (1908–09) Thomas Hodge (1909–10) H. I. Vye (1910–11) W. Rawley (1911–12) Fred Rocque (1912–15) Clarence Wanamaker (1915–17, 1919–20) John H. Murphy (1917–18) Leon Tuck (1920–21, 1922–24) Chippy Gaw (1921–22) H. R. Denesha (1924–26) J. Philip Bower (1926–33) Herbert Gill (1933–37) Eddie Jeremiah (1937–42, 1945–63, 1964–67) George T. Barclay/Dick Rondeau (1942–43) Charles Arthur (1943–45) Abner Oakes (1963–64, 1967–70) Grant Standbrook (1970–75) George Crowe (1975–84) Brian Mason (1984–90) Ben Smith (1990–91) Roger Demment (1991–97) Bob Gaudet (1997–2020) Reid Cashman (2020–present)
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Conference affiliations	Intercollegiate Hockey Association (1906–1913) Pentagonal League (1933–1943, 1946–1955) ECAC Hockey (1961–present)
Rivalries	New Hampshire Vermont
All-time leaders	Statistical leaders Bill Riley (228 Points) Bill Riley (118 Goals) Nick Boucher (50 Wins)
Frozen Four appearances	1948 1949 1979 1980
NCAA Tournament appearances	1948 1949 1979 1980
NHL players	T. J. Galiardi Tanner Glass David Jones Grant Lewis Ben Lovejoy Lee Stempniak
Dartmouth College Hanover, NH