Dowd played college baseball at Brown University, and according to an article in the Brown Alumni Magazine:
Nineteenth-century baseball authority Tim Murnane of the Boston Globe proclaimed Dowd the best center fielder he'd ever seen, especially for his skill at sprinting back on a ball over his head and then turning left or right for the catch. For years Dowd held the unofficial record time for circling the bases.
In 1905, Dowd coached the football team at St. Louis University,[2] leading the Blue and White to a 7–2 record.[3]
Dowd died at the age of 64 in his hometown of Holyoke of accidental drowning. His body was found in the Connecticut River. He is interred at the Calvary Cemetery.