Benjamin Gilbert Owen
1875 - 1970
A winner as a quarterback and as one of the nation's most
promising young coaches, Bennie Owen turned his hand to
establishing the University of Oklahoma as a winning football
program when he arrived in Norman in 1905.A soft-spoken but ferocious competitor, he quickly transformed the
Sooners into a force, compiling a 7-2 record in his first season. Six
of those victories were shutouts, including a 2-0 conquest of Texas.
Owen, whose overall conditioning and sportsmanship in compiling a
122-54-16 record in 22 seasons at OU. His Sooners were unbeaten
in 1911, 1915, 1918, and 1920.
Owen's insightful adoption of new tactics included his deceptive
"spinner" play, the forward pass, and running plays off a direct
snap from center. Owen's teams outscored the opposition 5,031-
1,470, laying OU's foundation as the highest-scoring football
program of all time.
Despite losing his right arm in a hunting accident in 1907, he also
coached basketball until 1921. He went 113-49 in 13 seasons on
the hardwood to become the only Sooner coach to achieve
100 victories in each sport.
As athletic director, Owen in 1922 began a fund-raising campaign
to build a football stadium and student union. His Sooners won
the first game ever played on what would become Owen Field in
1923. He also pushed through the construction of the field house, a
baseball stadium, tennis courts, a swim arena, and OU's first golf course.
A charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame and
member of Helms Foundation Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Sports
Hall of Fame, Bennie Owen is remembered as a true gentleman
and a creative pioneer who relished challenges while promoting
clean play, a love of the game, and good sportsmanship.