New ‘Fact Sheet’ Issued on Reggie Fowler

By Hugo Guzman  |   Friday, February 18, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota - A public relations firm representing prospective Minnesota Vikings owner Reggie Fowler issued a revised "fact sheet" on Fowler Wednesday after questions were raised about the accuracy of an official biography.

Fowler's original bio claimed he played in the NFL and CFL and in the Little League World Series as an 11-year-old, and implied that he earned a business administration and finance degree from the University of Wyoming.

The Star Tribune reported Wednesday that the claims were incorrect or overstated. Fowler, a former University of Wyoming linebacker, never made it out of an NFL training camp and doesn't appear in player databases for either league.

Little League officials said they had no record of Fowler on any roster of teams that played in the Series, and University of Wyoming records show Fowler's degree actually is in social work, the Star Tribune reported.

Fowler, 46, was introduced Monday at a news conference to announce a tentative $625 million deal for him to acquire the Vikings. The bio sheet was given to reporters and attributed to Spiral Inc., his Arizona company.

A call to Spiral's offices Wednesday by The Associated Press was referred to a spokeswoman, Leslie Kupchella, who didn't immediately return a phone call. Kupchella told the Star Tribune that a new "Reggie Fowler Fact Sheet" was issued with some changes that resulted from "conversations" with Fowler.

The new sheet includes no Little League mention and clarifies his degree was in social work, though it also lists "emphasis of study in business and finance" and "enrolled in MBA program." It clarifies that Fowler attended training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals, but still includes playing in 1983 for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders.

Chris Downs, a Little League spokesman, told the Star Tribune he examined rosters and teams from the late 1960s and early 1970s, about the period when Fowler would have been the right age to play. A team from Tucson, where Fowler grew up, was in the World Series in 1973 - when Fowler would have been 14 years old - but Fowler's name isn't on the roster. "I'm quite certain he didn't participate in the Little League World Series," Downs told the paper Wednesday. "I'm confident in saying that's inaccurate."

Fowler stands to become the NFL's first black owner if the league approves the sale. Owners are scheduled to meet in March in Hawaii; league rules require 24 of the 32 owners to approve a sale. His Spiral Inc., based in Chandler, Ariz., has divisions that include real estate, aviation, manufacturing, agricultural, entertainment and baning industries.
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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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