Charles Edward Cowan is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 offensive tackle who played fifteen seasons in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 with the Los Angeles Rams from 1961 to 1965. Cowan was a huge intimidating presence on the left of Tom Mack

Tom Mack

Thomas Lee Mack is a former left guard for the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, spending all 13-years with them from 1966 to 1978...

, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

, from 1966 to 1975, forming a potent left side of the offensive line, with help from Ken Iman

Ken Iman

Kenneth Charles Iman was a former center who played fifteen seasons in the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams from 1961 to 1975.-Playing center:...

 at center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 from 1965 to 1975. In that 1961 to 1975 span, the Rams made the playoffs 5 times (1967,1969,1973,1974,1975), reaching the NFC championship game of the 1974-75 NFL playoffs and the 1975-76 NFL playoffs, but losing to the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

 and to the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

, respectively. In the 1974 divisional round, the Rams defeated the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

, as Cowan was successful against the opposing the right defensive end Verlon Biggs

Verlon Biggs

Verlon Marion Biggs was an American football defensive end in the American Football League and National Football League. He played for the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, but felt he didn't receive enough credit for the Jets' playoff win against the Oakland Raiders in the AFL Championship Game...

. In the 1975 divisional round, Doug France

Doug France

Doug France is an American former National Football League offensive lineman who played eight seasons in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams.-Career:...

 started in his place as the Rams defeated the St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

. Cowan came back to play against the Cowboys, his final game, as the Rams could not get past them. Cowan was replaced by Doug France in 1976.