"Even in Muskingum County, the first thing people say to me is, 'Hey! Bob Bowen, the Mighty Minford Falcons!' " Meade said. Meade is superintendent of the Scioto County School System and often travels throughout Ohio. He said someone always mentions Minford, and the man who made it famous, Bob Bowen. 

Bowen, longtime sports director at WSAZ television in Huntington, died Tuesday in St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington, Ky. He was 70.

Over the Christmas holiday, Minford students will move into a newly completed $14 million complex just north of the current building. The complex will proudly boast of the Mighty Minford Falcons on its basketball floor. It was adopted into the school coat of arms about 10 years ago, Meade said.

When "Mighty" was added to the school symbol, Bowen was honored with a plaque and ceremony. "I don't know that Bob had seen the new school," Meade said. "I was looking forward to showing it to him." 

Bowen was the school's "goodwill ambassador" and most famous graduate, Meade said. "I can remember watching Channel 3 growing up and hearing him talk about the mighty Minford Falcons," he said. 

Originally hired as a disc jockey at WSAZ radio in 1958, Bowen moved into television in 1967 and retired in 1990.

"He was first of all a great person and really so very loyal in his coverage of Marshall," said Bos Johnson, a former co-worker and WSAZ news director. 

"Bob broadcast games giving you the game. He did not insert his own personality into the game. He wanted you to know what was going on. The game was foremost to him." 

Funeral services for Bowen will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday at Chapman's Mortuary in Huntington. Burial will follow in Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. 

Bowen, living in Versailles, Ky., at the time of his death, is survived by his wife, Cynthia Sue Linet Bowen three daughters, Cynthia Lee Klek of Rocky River, Ohio, Lauren Lee Bowen Snape of Shaker Heights, Ohio, and Linda Lee Paluch of Dublin, Ohio and one sister, Carol Lee Haney of Wheelersburg, Ohio.

Contributions may be made to the Kevin Russell Bowen Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Marshall University Foundation Inc., 400 Hal Greer Blvd., Huntington, WV 25755 the Kevin Bowen Memorial Scholarship Fund, South Point Local School, 203 Park Ave., South Point, OH 45680 or the Kevin Bowen Scholarship Fund, First United Methodist Church, Huntington, WV 25701.