William McGowen attended Phyllis Wheatley High School in Houston, Texas, as a student-athlete on the football team, graduating in 1947. He received a football scholarship to Texas College in Tyler, Texas. It was also at Tyler where he would meet the love of his life, Rosie.  William took his first job as a teacher/coach in Hugo, Oklahoma, where he resided for four (4) years. He then moved to Dennison Texas to teacher/coach at Terrell High School for seven years. Coach McGowan would make his finally career move as he would return home to Houston and join Kashmere Garden Senior High football staff.   At Kashmere he was defensive line coach, and mentors several outstanding five-star linemen’s doing his coaching career.

Mr. McGowan received his Master of Science degree from Texas Southern University.  He also took time away from football to become a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He even became president of Texas College Alumni.   During his time at Kashmere, McGowen would help build several squads into perennial regional powerhouses which were some of the most feared High School teams in the state of Texas.  He taught Chemistry and coached for twenty-five (25) years until his retirement from Kashmere in 1985.  

From what we get, we make a living: however, makes a life.” This saying reflects the life of a man who lived his life with a football.  Hence, a football symbolizes his life. His family learned to appreciate the game because he controlled the one and only black/white television in the household during the early 1960s. McGowan had the honor of coaching two of his nephews during his tenure at Kashmere, Tyrone Harland (1971), Anthony Bright (1973). Coach McGowan and his wife Rosie was gifted with two daughters Wanda Pegues and Marva Ledwith. This describes WILLIAM PENN MCGOWAN, who went to football heaven on May 27, 1993.