O. B. Cowles
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| Sport(s) | Football, basketball, basketball |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
August 25, 1899 Browns Valley, Minnesota |
| Died | August 29, 1997 (aged 98) Gainesville, Florida |
| Playing career | |
| Basketball | |
| 1918–1922 | Carleton |
| Position(s) |
Halfback (football) Guard (basketball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1923 | Iowa State Teachers (assistant) |
| c. 1925 | Carleton Knights (freshmen) |
| 1933–1935 | River Falls State |
| Basketball | |
| 1922–1923 | Rochester HS (MN) |
| 1923–1924 | Iowa State Teachers (assistant) |
| 1924–1930 | Carleton |
| 1932–1936 | River Falls State |
| 1936–1943 | Dartmouth |
| 1944–1946 | Dartmouth |
| 1946–1948 | Michigan |
| 1948–1959 | Minnesota |
| Baseball | |
| 1924 | Iowa State Teachers |
| 1925–? | Carleton |
| 1933–1936 | River Falls State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1932–1936 | River Falls State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 13–6–2 (college football) 421–208 (college basketball) 6–0 (college baseball, Iowa State Teachers only) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1 WIAC (1933) Basketball 3 MCAC (1928–1930) 1 WIAC (1936) 6 EIBL (1938–1943) 1 Big Ten (1948) |
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Osborne Bryan Cowles (August 25, 1899 – August 29, 1997) was an American basketball player and coach. He was the head men's basketball coach at Carleton College (1924–1930), River Falls State Teachers College (now University of Wisconsin–River Falls) (1932–1936), Dartmouth College (1936–1946), University of Michigan (1946–1948), and University of Minnesota (1948–1959). He was also the head baseball coach and assistant basketball and football coach at Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa during 1923–24. In 30 seasons as a collegiate head basketball coach, Cowles compiled a record of 416–189 (.688). His teams competed in the NCAA basketball tournament six times. At the time of his retirement in 1959, Cowles ranked among the top 15 college basketball coaches of all-time by number of games won. He has been inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame, the Dartmouth "Wearers of the Green," the University of Minnesota "M" Club Hall of Fame, the Carleton College Hall of Fame, and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Athletics Hall of Fame.
Cowles was born in Browns Valley, Minnesota. He was the son of Augustus and Elizabeth (Fowler) Cowles. His father was a druggist and farmer in Traverse County, Minnesota, near the South Dakota border. In his draft registration card completed in September 1918, Cowles indicated that he was living at Browns Valley and working for his father as a farm laborer.
Cowles attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. While at Carleton, Cowles played basketball, baseball and football, winning a total of 11 varsity letters. He was an All-State guard for the basketball team and was selected as the team captain during the 1920–21 and 1921–22 seasons. After Cowles scored 21 points against Coe College in 1921, The Coe College Cosmos praised his "whirlwind tactics in handling the ball" and noted, "Cowles is quick as a cat, powerful and heady—the personification of speed." During the two years in which Cowles was the captain, the Carleton basketball team compiled records of 13–4 and 14–2. He was also selected as an All-State halfback while playing for the Carleton football team.
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