 Owens from 1960UW yearbook | |||||||||
| No. 59 | |||||||||
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| Positions | End Defensive end | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1927-03-06)March 6, 1927 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | June 6, 2009(2009-06-06) (aged 82) Bigfork, Montana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Classen (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) | ||||||||
| College | Oklahoma | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1951: 23rd round, 271st overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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Operations | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Regular season | 99–82–6 (.545) | ||||||||
| Postseason | Bowl games: 2–1–0 (.667) | ||||||||
James Donald Owens (March 6, 1927 – June 6, 2009) was an American professionalfootball player and coach. He played one year in theNational Football League (NFL) as an end for theBaltimore Colts. His career in coaching was longer-lived, as he held the position of head coach at theUniversity of Washington from 1957 to 1974, compiling a record of 99–82–6 (.545) in 18 seasons.
Owens playedcollege football at theUniversity of Oklahoma from 1946 to 1949, under head coachBud Wilkinson, where he was a teammate ofDarrell Royal, who, coincidentally, was the Huskies' head coach in1956, then took the same post atTexas, allowing Owens to come to Seattle.[1] He played a year of pro football in1950 for theBaltimore Colts, a one-win squad worthy of mention as among the worst teams in NFL history.[2]
After his brief foray in professional football came to an end, Owens served as a college assistant coach for six years underBear Bryant at theUniversity of Kentucky and atTexas A&M University.[3] According to legend, after the 1956 season, when theWashington Huskies were looking for a head coach, Bryant indicated to reporters that Owens "will make a great coach for somebody some day."[4]
In1959 and1960, he led Washington to back-to-back ten-win seasons and consecutiveRose Bowl wins. He was awarded theUPI Pacific Coast Coach of the Year for1959[5] and1960.[6] He also coached the Huskies to the1964 Rose Bowl. Owens concurrently served as theathletic director at Washington from 1960 to 1969. He was elected to theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1982.
Owens'1960 team was awarded thenational championship by theHelms Athletic Foundation after defeatingMinnesota in the1961 Rose Bowl. The Golden Gophers had already been awarded theAP,UPI, andNFF national championships at the end of the regular season, as was customary at the time.
Owens resigned as head coach of the Huskies following the 1974 season at the end of his last contract, a three-year deal at $33,000 per year.[7] His later years at Washington were marred by accusations ofracism and the backlash that resulted from his actions and attitudes towardsblack players.[8][9][10][11][12] He was succeeded as head coach byDon James, the head coach atKent State, who also led the Huskies for eighteen seasons. Owens later apologized for his actions as part of his acknowledgements as a statue of him was erected at Washington in2003.[13]
Owens died at age 82 in 2009 at his home inBigfork, Montana.[14]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Huskies(Pacific Coast Conference)(1957–1958) | |||||||||
| 1957 | Washington | 3–6–1 | 3–4 | 7th | |||||
| 1958 | Washington | 3–7 | 1–6 | 8th | |||||
| Washington Huskies(Athletic Association of Western Universities / Pacific-8 Conference)(1959–1974) | |||||||||
| 1959 | Washington | 10–1 | 6–1 | T–1st | WRose | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1960 | Washington | 10–1 | 7–0 | 1st | WRose | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1961 | Washington | 5–4–1 | 2–1–1 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1962 | Washington | 7–1–2 | 4–1 | 2nd | 14 | ||||
| 1963 | Washington | 6–5 | 4–1 | 1st | LRose | 15 | |||
| 1964 | Washington | 6–4 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1965 | Washington | 5–5 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1966 | Washington | 6–4 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| 1967 | Washington | 5–5 | 3–4 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1968 | Washington | 3–5–2 | 1–5–1 | 8th | |||||
| 1969 | Washington | 1–9 | 1–7 | 7th | |||||
| 1970 | Washington | 6–4 | 4–3 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1971 | Washington | 8–3 | 4–3 | T–3rd | 19 | ||||
| 1972 | Washington | 8–3 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1973 | Washington | 2–9 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
| 1974 | Washington | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–5th | |||||
| Washington: | 99–82–6 | 60–58–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 99–82–6 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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