Bennie Owen
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Gilbert Owen was an American football
player and coach of football, basketball
, and baseball
. He served as the head football coach at Washburn College, now Washburn University
, in 1900, at Bethany College
in Lindsborg, Kansas
from 1902 to 1904, and at the University of Oklahoma
from 1905 to 1926, compiling a career college football
record of 155–60–19. Owen was also the head basketball coach at Oklahoma from 1908 to 1921, tallying a mark of 113–49, and the head baseball coach at the school from 1906 to 1922, amassing a record of 142–102–4. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
as a coach in 1951.
when he was 12. After he finished school, his family again moved, this time to Arkansas City, Kansas
. There Owen served as an apprentice to a local doctor for three years. He then enrolled in the University of Kansas
in 1897 to pursue his medical studies and he soon discovered his knack for football.
Owen played football at Kansas under two excellent, but contrasting coaches. Wylie G. Woodruff
, an All American
player from the University of Pennsylvania
came to Kansas to coach football in the fall of 1897. Owen got a part time job working as a medical assistant for Woodruff and it was Woodruff who encouraged Owen to try out for the Kansas football team
. Owen played under Woodruff for two seasons. Woodruff specialized in a tough, hard-hitting style of football. Woodruff's message to his players was "hurdle the wounded, step on the dead." Woodruff was released at the end of the 1898 season and Kansas hired Fielding H. Yost from the University of Nebraska
. Unlike, Woodruff, Yost's style of football was based on innovation, speed, and cunning. Owen was the star quarterback
for Yost's undefeated 1899 team.
. Following a one year stint there, he spent the 1901 season as Yost's assistant at the University of Michigan
. While at Michigan, he helped Yost develop the famous "Point-a-Minute" teams built around halfback
Willie Heston
. Owen got his first exposure to the Oklahoma football team
while head coach at Bethany College
in Lindsborg, Kansas
. His Bethany Swedes met and defeated two Sooner teams in 1903 and 1904.
Owen took over the Oklahoma football team in 1905, succeeding one-year coach Fred Ewing
. He stepped in and immediately turned the fledgling team around, giving Oklahoma its very first win over the rival Texas Longhorns
. Owen was loved by the players as he regularly would involve himself in scrimmages when he felt his players were lagging. Owen's first two years at Oklahoma were spent back and forth between Norman
and Arkansas City
. Due to a reduced financial budget, Owen only remained on campus during the football season. In 1907, Owen lost his right arm in a hunting accident.
Early in Stratton D. Brooks
's tenure as president of the University of Oklahoma, Owen was fired by the state legislature. They believed his salary of $3,500 was far too great for an athletics coach and used the loss of his arm as an excuse for dismissal. They recommended he be terminated and shortly thereafter, he was. However, when Brooks heard of this news, he quickly got the decision rescinded. Owens did not learn of his "dismissal" until a week after his "re-hiring."
Early in Owen's tenure as head coach, funding for athletic teams were very much an issue. Due to costs involved in travel, Owen's teams would regularly go out on long, grueling road trips. In 1905, his Sooners played three games in five days and in 1909 they played three games in six days. Owen is also known for introducing the forward pass
to football in the Southwestern United States
. This allowed his team to quickly score against lesser opponents. In 1911, his team defeated Kingfisher College
, 104–0. Largely because of their accomplishments during Owen's era as head coach, the Oklahoma Sooners have scored the most points of any team in college football history. In 1,154 games through the 2009 season, the Sooners have scored 30,897 points with over 5,000 of those being contributed by Owen's teams. Owen's Sooners twice scored over 150 points in a game and won three games in 1915 by a combined score of 258–0. Owen's overall record at Oklahoma was 122–54–16. Along with Bud Wilkinson
, Barry Switzer
and Bob Stoops
, he is one of four coaches to win over 100 games at the University of Oklahoma. No other college football program has had more than three coaches accomplish the feat.
In addition to coaching football, Owen also spent 13 seasons as the Oklahoma men's basketball
head coach. In those 13 years, he won nearly 70% of his games, had two undefeated seasons and only two losing seasons.
, they originally played at Boyd Field
during Owen's tenure and later moved and renamed Owen Field in his honor. The playing surface itself still retains the name Owen Field and many still refer to the stadium as a whole as such. Owen was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame
, elected in 1951. He died February 26, 1970 in Houston, Texas
at age 94.
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...
player and coach of football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. He served as the head football coach at Washburn College, now Washburn University
Washburn University
Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and...
, in 1900, at Bethany College
Bethany College (Kansas)
Bethany College is a small liberal arts college located in Lindsborg, Kansas and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . The college's mission is to educate, develop and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead loves of faith, learning and service...
in Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,458. It is known for its association with Swedish heritage and the biennial Svensk Hyllningsfest...
from 1902 to 1904, and at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
from 1905 to 1926, compiling a career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 155–60–19. Owen was also the head basketball coach at Oklahoma from 1908 to 1921, tallying a mark of 113–49, and the head baseball coach at the school from 1906 to 1922, amassing a record of 142–102–4. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
as a coach in 1951.
Early life and playing career
Owen was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1875 and his family moved to St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
when he was 12. After he finished school, his family again moved, this time to Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
. There Owen served as an apprentice to a local doctor for three years. He then enrolled in the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 1897 to pursue his medical studies and he soon discovered his knack for football.
Owen played football at Kansas under two excellent, but contrasting coaches. Wylie G. Woodruff
Wylie G. Woodruff
-External links:...
, an All American
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
player from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
came to Kansas to coach football in the fall of 1897. Owen got a part time job working as a medical assistant for Woodruff and it was Woodruff who encouraged Owen to try out for the Kansas football team
Kansas Jayhawks football
The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
. Owen played under Woodruff for two seasons. Woodruff specialized in a tough, hard-hitting style of football. Woodruff's message to his players was "hurdle the wounded, step on the dead." Woodruff was released at the end of the 1898 season and Kansas hired Fielding H. Yost from the University of Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
. Unlike, Woodruff, Yost's style of football was based on innovation, speed, and cunning. Owen was the star quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for Yost's undefeated 1899 team.
Coaching career
Upon graduating from Kansas, Owen took his first head coaching job at Washburn CollegeWashburn University
Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and...
. Following a one year stint there, he spent the 1901 season as Yost's assistant at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. While at Michigan, he helped Yost develop the famous "Point-a-Minute" teams built around halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
Willie Heston
Willie Heston
William Martin "Willie" Heston was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University in 1905 and North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now North...
. Owen got his first exposure to the Oklahoma football team
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma . The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
while head coach at Bethany College
Bethany College (Kansas)
Bethany College is a small liberal arts college located in Lindsborg, Kansas and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . The college's mission is to educate, develop and challenge individuals to reach for truth and excellence as they lead loves of faith, learning and service...
in Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,458. It is known for its association with Swedish heritage and the biennial Svensk Hyllningsfest...
. His Bethany Swedes met and defeated two Sooner teams in 1903 and 1904.
Owen took over the Oklahoma football team in 1905, succeeding one-year coach Fred Ewing
Fred Ewing
Fred E. "Buck" Ewing was an American football coach and physician. He coached the University of Oklahoma during the 1904 season and amassed a 4–3–1 record. He was the first Oklahoma football coach to require players to be academically eligible...
. He stepped in and immediately turned the fledgling team around, giving Oklahoma its very first win over the rival Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...
. Owen was loved by the players as he regularly would involve himself in scrimmages when he felt his players were lagging. Owen's first two years at Oklahoma were spent back and forth between Norman
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the...
and Arkansas City
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
. Due to a reduced financial budget, Owen only remained on campus during the football season. In 1907, Owen lost his right arm in a hunting accident.
Early in Stratton D. Brooks
Stratton D. Brooks
Stratton Duluth Brooks was the third president of the University of Oklahoma and eleventh president of the University of Missouri.-Early life:...
's tenure as president of the University of Oklahoma, Owen was fired by the state legislature. They believed his salary of $3,500 was far too great for an athletics coach and used the loss of his arm as an excuse for dismissal. They recommended he be terminated and shortly thereafter, he was. However, when Brooks heard of this news, he quickly got the decision rescinded. Owens did not learn of his "dismissal" until a week after his "re-hiring."
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
to football in the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
. This allowed his team to quickly score against lesser opponents. In 1911, his team defeated Kingfisher College
Kingfisher College
-Bringing a College to Kingfisher:Founded by the Rev. Joseph Homer Parker, a Congregationalist Minister who had founded many Congregationalist churches in Canada and the Northeast U.S., and who had also founded the predecessor institution to Wichita State University...
, 104–0. Largely because of their accomplishments during Owen's era as head coach, the Oklahoma Sooners have scored the most points of any team in college football history. In 1,154 games through the 2009 season, the Sooners have scored 30,897 points with over 5,000 of those being contributed by Owen's teams. Owen's Sooners twice scored over 150 points in a game and won three games in 1915 by a combined score of 258–0. Owen's overall record at Oklahoma was 122–54–16. Along with Bud Wilkinson
Bud Wilkinson
Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14...
, Barry Switzer
Barry Switzer
Barry Switzer is a former football coach, active in the college and professional ranks between 1962 and 1997. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history, and is one of only two head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a...
and Bob Stoops
Bob Stoops
Robert Anthony "Bob" Stoops is the head coach of the University of Oklahoma football team. During the 2000 season, Stoops led the Sooners to an Orange Bowl victory and a national championship....
, he is one of four coaches to win over 100 games at the University of Oklahoma. No other college football program has had more than three coaches accomplish the feat.
In addition to coaching football, Owen also spent 13 seasons as the Oklahoma men's basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
head coach. In those 13 years, he won nearly 70% of his games, had two undefeated seasons and only two losing seasons.
Honors and death
While the name of the Oklahoma football stadium is the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial StadiumGaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
The Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is the on-campus football facility for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. The official capacity of the stadium, following recent renovations, is 82,112, making it the 16th largest college stadium in the United States and the third...
, they originally played at Boyd Field
Boyd Field
Boyd Field was a stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. It hosted the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team until they moved to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 1923. The stadium held 11,000 people at its peak and was opened in 1905. The stadium was named after former university...
during Owen's tenure and later moved and renamed Owen Field in his honor. The playing surface itself still retains the name Owen Field and many still refer to the stadium as a whole as such. Owen was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
, elected in 1951. He died February 26, 1970 in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
at age 94.
Football
External links
- Bennie Owen at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com