- Artie Owens
Infobox NFL player
|DateOfBirth=Birth date and age|1953|1|14|mf=y
Birthplace=flagicon|USAMontgomery, AL
Height_ft=5
Height_in=11
Weight_lbs=175
Position=Running back Wide receiver Kick returner
number=24, 85, 49
College=West Virginia
DraftedYear=1976
DraftedRound=4
DraftedPick=115
PFR=OwenAr00
DatabaseFootball=OWENSART01
NFL =
ESPN =
SportsIllustrated =
years=1976-1979
1980
1980
1983
teams=San Diego Chargers Buffalo Bills New Orleans Saints
(USFL ) Philadelphia Stars
ProBowls=
CollegeHOF=
HOF=Arthur Gene Owens (born
January 14 ,1953 inMontgomery, Alabama ) was anAmerican football running back , return specialist, and receiver that played collegiately for theWest Virginia Mountaineers . He was also a track runner for the Mountaineers. Owens was primarily known for playing in theNational Football League and also in theUnited States Football League .High School Career
Artie Owens moved from
Alabama toPennsylvania as a youth. As a senior, Owens led the Stroudsburg High School Mountaineers to an 11-0 record and established Pennsylvania records for touchdowns, with 41, and yards rushing, with 2,061. He was named aKodak All-American ,UPI and AP all-state, all-Big 33, all-Lehigh Valley and all-Eastern Pennsylvania for Coach Fred Ross. Owens also was on the Mounties'basketball and track teams, and once ran the100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds.Collegiate career
Football
Artie Owens arrived at West Virginia in
1972 . Owens saw limited time as a freshman, only rushing for 72 yards and one touchdown. He also had 369 return yards, along with an 85 yard kick return.As a sophomore in
1973 , Owens was the projected starter at the beginning of the season. But an injury led to newcomerDwayne Woods to assume to role for the rest of the season. Owens only rushed for 391 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he did have 291 return yards with a kick return touchdown of 95 yards againstPenn State . His sophomore season marked his final season of returning punts.In his junior season of
1974 , Owens went injury-free as he finally started through a whole season. His stats showed as well, as he rushed for a career-high 1,130 yards and 7 touchdowns, including an 85 yard run. He also had 301 kick returns yards, including a 73 yard return.In his final season as a Mountaineer,
1975 , Owens rushed for 1,055 yards and 5 touchdowns, with a 6.6 yards per carry average. Owens had a career-low 213 kick return yards, but a career-high 125 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.Owens rushed for a then-school record 2,648 yards (now fourth on the career list), and set a record for career all-purpose rushing yardage with 3,971 yards (now third on the career list). Owens 6.4 career average for yards per carry is one of the best averages in school history and his 13 career 100-yard rushing games was a school record as well. After playing four seasons, Owens' 95-yard kick return for a touchdown as a junior was third-longest in school history. He received his degree at WVU in 2004.
Track
As a freshman, Owens tied a 41-year-old WVU record for the 100 yard dash by clocking a 9.6. He later bettered that mark with a 9.5, a record he shares with fellow two-sport star
Harry Blake . Owens and Blake also teamed to set Mountaineer records in the 440- and 880-yard relays, and three times won the prestigiousPenn Relays . [http://www.wvu.edu/~sports/hall_fame/artie_owens.htm]Pro career
an Diego Chargers
Artie Owens was selected in the fourth round of the
1976 NFL Draft by theSan Diego Chargers as a receiver rather than arunning back . Owens played with the Chargers for four seasons.He started his pro career out in 1976, playing in 14 games. Although seeing some playing time, Owens only recorded 54 yards on three catches, along with one touchdowns. In 1977, Owens saw no time at receiver, but did have one rush for three yards.
Owens best two seasons were his last two in San Diego. In 1978, Owens recorded his best receiving statistical season in his career. He caught 9 passes that season for 188 yards with an impressive 20.9 yards per catch. The following season, 1979, Owens produced his best rushing season in his pro career, and the only season he saw notable time running the ball. Owens had 40 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown that season. He also had 15 receptions for 176 yards and a touchdown the same season, making the 1979 season his best pro season and maybe the best football season of his career.
Owens was named
special teams MVP as a kick returner and set the Charger career record for all-purpose running, netting 999 career yards in kickoff returns alone.After San Diego
Following his breakout season in 1979, Owens was picked up by the
Buffalo Bills . He saw no action in 1980 with the Bills, and four games into the season he was traded to theNew Orleans Saints . Owens saw no action with the 1-15 Saints either, and eventually retired after only 3 games in New Orleans.USFL
Three years after retiring from the NFL, Owens returned to professional football in 1983. He played for the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL for one season, before retiring from football for good.
Personal life
After a successful football career, Owens moved back to Stroudsburg, where he instructed an alternative school for the mentally handicapped. He also assumed coaching roles at Stroudsburg High School, leading the school's 1984 team to an undefeated season.
Owens attempted construction work in 1986, and after he finished it in 1987, he returned to his mental health profession. He currently works preparing mentally handicapped adults for their future lives. [http://www.wvu.edu/~sports/hall_fame/artie_owens.htm]
Owens currently resides in
Whitehall, Pennsylvania , with his wife, Patricia, and his two children. His son, Artie Owens II, played football at NCAA Division III Susquehana.External links
* [http://www.wvu.edu/~sports/hall_fame/artie_owens.htm Artie Owens' WVU Athletics Hall of Fame Page]
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