A native Victorian, Paul Rowe was a versatile athlete who excelled at track and field and rugby, playing on the McKechnie Cup-winning rugby team of 1936. While still a student, Rowe played football on the 1931 Victoria Commercial Travellers team (senior amateurs). He went on to play football on a scholarship for the University of Oregon before moving to Calgary in 1938. In 1964, Paul was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He was also made a member of Alberta’s Sports Hall of Fame and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

During World War II, Rowe played football for the Canadian Army team in 1944.

Rowe played football with the Calgary Bronks from 1938-40 and the Calgary Stampeders from 1945-50. As captain of the Stampeders, he led them to a Grey Cup triumph in 1948 and to the Grey Cup final in 1949.

He was voted one of the all-time greatest plunging fullbacks in Canadian football in 1948. He was a member of the Western Conference’s all-star team as fullback in 1939, 1940, 1946 and 1948. He was also recipient of the Dave Dryburgh Trophy as “Western Conference Leading Scorer” in 1939 and 1948.

In 2000, Rowe was inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame, as well as the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame a second time as a member of the 1948 Calgary Stampeders.