Terrific interview on the official site.
Homecoming special.
https://soonersports.com/index.aspx?path=football
Homecoming special.
https://soonersports.com/index.aspx?path=football
Steve Owens honor for homecoming this weekend 50 years after winning his Heisman
- Thread starter Plainosooner
- Start date
Thanks, Plaino.
I watched Owens play in the 1968 and 1969 seasons while attending OU.
To accomplish what he did, while playing on two Oklahoma teams that were far removed from being among OU's greatest teams, and with opponents keying on him so much during his Heisman year in 1969....as Fairbanks ran him an average of 36 times per game....Owens was truly Heisman worthy.
Question I have to Plaino........if Owens had come to OU three years later, could he have flourished in the wishbone offense with its accent on speed ? My guess is he would have done so as a halfback, as Jim Bertelson, Ted Koy and Billy Dale did at Texas when it employed the wishbone. (This in spite of Greg Pruitt declaring Owens would have had to play linebacker had he been on Pruitt's 1971 team.) His numbers likely would not have been as good, but Owens would have been very productive......that is, unless he signed with Arkansas instead which was recruiting him hard.
I watched Owens play in the 1968 and 1969 seasons while attending OU.
To accomplish what he did, while playing on two Oklahoma teams that were far removed from being among OU's greatest teams, and with opponents keying on him so much during his Heisman year in 1969....as Fairbanks ran him an average of 36 times per game....Owens was truly Heisman worthy.
Question I have to Plaino........if Owens had come to OU three years later, could he have flourished in the wishbone offense with its accent on speed ? My guess is he would have done so as a halfback, as Jim Bertelson, Ted Koy and Billy Dale did at Texas when it employed the wishbone. (This in spite of Greg Pruitt declaring Owens would have had to play linebacker had he been on Pruitt's 1971 team.) His numbers likely would not have been as good, but Owens would have been very productive......that is, unless he signed with Arkansas instead which was recruiting him hard.
As good as Steve Owens was I'm guessing that Barry would have found him a spot in the wishbone. CT is probably correct, he would have more than likely been a fullback.
Interesting question. I believe early in his career, he was on a spring depth chart at TE. There was some goal line scrimmage where he got his shot at tailback, that cemented him as an alternating tb with Ron Shotts.
Steve was a solid blocker and his straight up running style would have made him a solid running back. Likely he and Wylie would have been running backs. Remember Pruitt started as a wide receiver.
Obviously our first great wishbone running back. But he really only got a shot because Everett Marshall couldn't get it done. If Steve had been 3 years later, we might have never left the l formation.
Steve was a solid blocker and his straight up running style would have made him a solid running back. Likely he and Wylie would have been running backs. Remember Pruitt started as a wide receiver.
Obviously our first great wishbone running back. But he really only got a shot because Everett Marshall couldn't get it done. If Steve had been 3 years later, we might have never left the l formation.
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A Pruitt-Owens-Crosswhite-Mildren wishbone, with Roy Bell, Joe Wylie and Everett Marshall as backup halfbacks and Tim Welch as backup at fullback and Dave Robertson and James Stokley as backups at QB would have been awesome.
Steve did it on a not so good Sooner team. He was a monster running on a 12 pack Super Heavy Duty Eveready. One of the best ever and one of the truly good guys to be around.
Congrats, Loren!
Congrats, Loren!
OWENS was a classic I formation TB but I'm not sure he would have fit in our triple-option scheme in the early '70's. The Sooner wishbone was built on speed not power like the UT wishbone. OWENS would not have beat out Wylie at RH. He probably would have beat out Crosswhite at FB. Now, we could have made it work, much like we made Dave Robertson work at QB. Robertson was no triple-option QB. He was a passer.
You may be right, but I alluded to Jim Bertelsen, a white running back who starred for Texas in 1969 running as a halfback in the wishbone. Bertelsen may have had better speed than Owens as I recall. Owens was not an ideal outside runner, especially the way the wishbone was run with its pitch sweeps.
Then I remembered what Switzer said..."Texas (and ATM) may have invented the wishbone, but Oklahoma perfected it." And it was perfected with the speed of Pruitt, Bell, Marshall and Wylie, a white player who was very fast with his long strides.
Owens was my favorite player growing up and even though I was only 10 in 1969 I was happy he won the HT. In the mid 90s I actually met him in Waco at the Baylor game. He got off the bus and visited with all the OU fans that was milling around the stadium and treated us all like he had known us for years. My wife was really impressed with him that he took the time to visit with the fans.
Years later my wife worked with an individual who grew up and was friends with him during HS. She talked to him about getting me an autographed picture and he made contact with Steve and he sent that picture. It was a great birthday present.
i wish more athletes was like him as that day at Waco he seemed like a very humbled person.
Years later my wife worked with an individual who grew up and was friends with him during HS. She talked to him about getting me an autographed picture and he made contact with Steve and he sent that picture. It was a great birthday present.
i wish more athletes was like him as that day at Waco he seemed like a very humbled person.
The first time I saw Steve in person was in the 1967 Texas game. In the first half OWENS ran wild but we blew numerous RZ scoring opportunities and only led 7-0 @ the half. This was the game where DKR made his famous halftime speech in which he said, " fellows, there's a helluva fight going on out there, don't you think we ought to get in on it." A close friend and I had gotten tickets in the UT section, right behind the band ( don't ask me how ). We were drinking Vodka out of an embalming fluid container ( my friend's uncle was a mortician.) We were obnoxious, repeating over and over he's only a Sophomore. By the 4th qtr. they were throwing food, beer cans, whatever at us. We lost 9-7.
Wodka makes you Womit (sometimes). Thanks for sharing owen; you are lucky you survived that one without getting a thumping from a trombone or worse in those days...
I forgot what the Question was, SONshine, but Wodka is The Answer!!!
Steve and Barbara were our Seat-Mates for several years, in the 70s and 80s. He WAS a Very Down-to-Earth Guy! Our sons, (Go-Fers) made the half-time run to the concession stands, every week, and always brought back drinks/snacks for the Owens, as well. Steve couldn't go down there, and make his way back, in time for the kickoff, because so many Fans wanted to shake his hand, or try for an autograph. Those were the days...
His HS classmate still works for my Pop in Miami & is my source for a bit of OU stuff. I need to get him to get me a face to face with Steve and/or Tinker before its too late
OU football came into my consciousness when, as a tenth grader in Hawaii, I saw a Sports Illustrated cover with Steve Owens and a headline that stated something to the effect of "The Battle for College Football's Oscar." I read the article and have been addicted to OU football ever since.
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