R. C. Owens obit

Football Star R.C. Owens Has Died 

He was not on the list.

Owens was an end and halfback from 1957 through 1964 in the National Football League (NFL). Owens graduated from Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California, and attended the College of Idaho (where his roommate and teammate was Elgin Baylor). He played amateur basketball with the Seattle-based Buchan Bakers the year after their national championship.

Owens then joined the NFL. He had his best years playing for the San Francisco 49ers, where he was noted for his "Alley Oop" receptions of quarterback Y. A. Tittle's passes. The Alley Oop was essentially a jump ball that Tittle would throw high over the end zone and Owens would catch. The tall, long-armed Owens was known for his jumping ability; he once blocked a field goal by jumping up at the cross bar and knocking it down. The next season, "goal tending" was made illegal. Owens's best year by far was 1961, when he gained over 1,000 yards receiving.

Owens played four games for the 1961-1962 San Francisco Saints of the American Basketball League.

 

He died on June 17, 2012 in Manteca, California.

 

Career history

San Francisco 49ers (1957–1961)

Baltimore Colts (1962–1963)

New York Giants (1964)

Career highlights and awards

Second-team All-Pro (1960)

San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame

First-team Little All-American (1954)

Career NFL statistics

Receptions:            206

Receiving yards:   3,285

Touchdowns:            22