One of the first superstars of the Bowdoin men’s
basketball program, Bob Patterson established himself as one of the
top scorers in school history – and then sacrificed his
scoring ability to lift the team to some of its greatest heights.
The third Bowdoin player to surpass 1,000 career points, Patterson
was a prolific scorer upon arriving in Brunswick from Medford High
School in Massachusetts, and still ranks among the school’s
top ten in career points per game (16.8) more than forty years
later. Despite his scoring ability, Bowdoin won just five games in
his debut campaign. Patterson transitioned his game to that of a
play-maker and success soon followed – the Polar Bears
improved dramatically and, in his final campaign, Patterson
captained one of the finest squads in school history. His 1967-68
team went 15-6, posting just the second winning season in program
history, establishing a new program record for wins in a season and
earning recognition as the top small college team in New
England.
