Cowgill Recovers From Leg Injuries to Walk Away With MVP Honors

In 1983, Tim Cowgill played in the first Pride Bowl, which benefited several County charities.

Shortly after, he almost became a cause for charity himself.

Cowgill said he was helping a security guard remove a man from a bar when the man threw a punch at him. Cowgill, an off-duty sheriff, said he subdued the man, but later turned him loose.

Afterward, Cowgill was standing outside the bar next to a parked car, when the man drove his car into Cowgill, pinning his legs between the vehicles.

Bones were crushed in Cowgill’s legs and doctors feared they would have to amputate his right leg. He was told he would probably never walk again.

But after reconstructive surgery and hundreds of hours of rehabilitation, Cowgill is walking--and running--again.

He was the Pride Bowl’s most valuable player in 1987 and he scored two touchdowns for the sheriffs in their 26-12 victory over the police Saturday night at Camarillo High.