ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, who stepped away from the team's day-to-day operations last year because of his battle with Alzheimer's disease, was elected Wednesday to the Broncos' Ring of Fame.
The ceremony will be at halftime of the Broncos' Nov. 1 game against the Green Bay Packers in Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Bowlen, known as "Mr. B" to many in the organization, has been the Broncos' owner since 1984.
"I went over to his house earlier ... met with him briefly and I informed him, 'You know, you started the Ring of Fame in 1984 and today you were elected into the Ring of Fame,'" Broncos CEO Joe Ellis said. "And he paused and he had a little wry smile come over his face, and he said, 'Why the hell would guys do that?' That kind sums up what Pat's all about, his modesty and his humility."
During Bowlen's tenure, the Broncos have won 319 games overall -- 301 in the regular season -- and have had 19 winning seasons and 17 playoff appearances. The Broncos have been to six Super Bowls under Bowlen (including two titles, back-to-back wins in 1997 and '98) while posting just five losing seasons.
"It's very humbling for my family to see Pat receive this honor for everything he has meant to the Broncos during his 32 years as owner," Bowlen's wife, Annabel, said in a statement. "Pat created the Ring of Fame when he first became owner as a way to pay tribute to this team's all-time greats. It's fitting that he will now stand alongside these amazing Broncos who have had such an outstanding and lasting impact on this franchise.''
John Elway, the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations/general manager, often talks of maintaining the "standard Pat Bowlen set," and Ellis often says, "We want to conduct ourselves the way Pat Bowlen would expect us to conduct ourselves."
"He's established himself as one of pro football's greatest contributors," Ellis said. " ... The next step -- we all believe, and we're partial, and we believe it strongly, with conviction -- for Mr. B should be the Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And I'm hopeful that day comes sooner rather than later ... he is deserving of that honor."
Bowlen, 71, formally stepped away from the team's day-to-day operations last summer when the team announced Ellis would have final say on all team matters. At the time, Ellis called it "a day of tremendous sadness."
Team officials and some players, including quarterback Peyton Manning, have visited Bowlen in recent months. The team's ownership is currently held in a trust Bowlen set up more than a decade ago in hopes that one of his seven children would one day run the organization.
Bowlen is the 28th member of the Broncos' organization to be elected to the Ring of Fame. The team's selection committee held its annual meeting Wednesday morning in a conference room at the Broncos' suburban Denver complex.