Sport(s) Football 1951–1953 Kentucky (assistant) Position(s) End | 1950 Baltimore Colts 1946–1949 Oklahoma Name Jim Owens | |
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Born March 6, 1927
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma ( 1927-03-06 ) Died June 6, 2009(2009-06-06) (aged 82)
Bigfork, Montana | ||
265 Jim Owens - The Code of the West - Cowboy Ethics - Reno, Nevada
James Donald Owens (March 6, 1927 – June 6, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Washington from 1957 to 1974, compiling a record of 99–82–6 (.545) in 18 seasons.
Owens played college football at the University of Oklahoma from 1946 to 1949, under head coach Bud Wilkinson, where he was a teammate of Darrell Royal, whom, ironically was the Huskies' head coach in 1956, then took the same post at Texas, allowing Owens to come to Seattle. He played a year of pro football in 1950 and then was a college assistant coach for six years under the legendary Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky and Texas A&M University. According to legend, after the 1956 season, when the Washington Huskies were looking for a head coach, Bryant indicated to reporters that Owens "will make a great coach for somebody some day."
In 1959 and 1960, he led Washington to back-to-back ten-win seasons and consecutive Rose Bowl wins, as well as a national championship in 1960. He also coached the Huskies to the 1964 Rose Bowl. Owens concurrently served as the athletic director at Washington from 1960 to 1969. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1982.
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. His later years at Washington were marred by accusations of racism and the backlash that resulted from his actions and attitudes towards black players. He was succeeded by Don James, who would also coach the Huskies for 18 seasons. He would later apologize for his actions and a statue of Owens was erected at Washington in 2003.