Reggie Fowler

Reggie Fowler's journey to the brink of majority ownership of a National Football League franchise began forty-six years ago. One of five children from a military family, Mr. Fowler spent most of his formative years in Tucson, Arizona. His first job was in his father's restaurant, known throughout Tucson's African American community as a signature, high-quality establishment. Mr. Fowler cooked, washed dishes, bussed tables and did whatever was required to support his family's business. He also assisted in the oversight of the restaurant's business operations -- an invaluable experience that, in many ways, served as the genesis of his remarkable business career.

Mr. Fowler's early drive and determination in the family business quickly translated into academic and athletic pursuits and achievements. An annual member of his school honor roll, Mr. Fowler also began receiving recognition for his athletic talents as early as the sixth grade. In that year, he was the recipient of a Presidential Accommodation from President Richard Nixon. At eleven years-old, Mr. Fowler's performance as an all-star baseball player earned him and his team a spot in the Little League World Series.

While blessed with athletic talents in several sports, football became Mr. Fowler's first love. After graduating high school, he accepted a football scholarship from the University of Wyoming, where he excelled on the gridiron and in the classroom. The early years in the restaurant business, where he developed a passion for numbers, led him to pursue a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis on Finance.

On the athletic front, Mr. Fowler's stellar performance as an outside linebacker provided him an opportunity to pursue his dream of playing professional football. For three years Mr. Fowler realized that dream by playing for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League, the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League and the Arizona Wranglers of the United States Football League. Upon his retirement from professional football, Mr. Fowler remained in Arizona and enrolled in Arizona State University's MBA Program. Based on his academic success at ASU, Mr. Fowler applied for and was accepted into Mobil Oil Corporation's internationally renowned "Whiz Kids" program. This two-year matriculation program is designed to train gifted, young professionals to become executives of large corporations. Mr. Fowler participated in the program through Mobil Chemical, where he developed knowledge in the marketing of plastic products, as well as different forms of bags, trays and trash containers.

Mr. Fowler's performance at Mobil was consistent with the standard of excellence he had demonstrated on the field and in the classroom since childhood. He was named Mobil Chemical "Rookie of the Year" and earned additional honors as the group's top sales person.

However, when his accomplishments prompted Mobil Chemical to offer a promotion that would have necessitated a move to Southern California, Mr. Fowler declined. Instead, in the spirit of the entrepreneurial vision established by his father, Mr. Fowler began a stunning career in the private sector that brings him to this historic moment in American and professional sports history.

With a $1,000 investment in the late '80s, Mr. Fowler founded Spiral, Inc., presently the 11th largest African-American owned firm, according to the June 2004 edition of Black Enterprise Magazine. Spiral is comprised of six divisions, with a focus on the following industries: Real Estate, Aviation, Manufacturing, Agricultural, Entertainment and Banking.

In a lifetime filled with an inordinate amount of self-made success, rooted in principles formed in the Southwestern Desert and football fields across North America, Mr. Fowler is now embarking on an unprecedented new venture -- majority ownership of a National Football League franchise. When he succeeds, he will take with him the disciplines of hard work, integrity and passion that have fueled his achievements for over four decades.