R.C. Owens

Biography

Raleigh Climon Owens revolutionized professional football by inventing the "Alley Oop" pass play, transferring his extraordinary basketball leaping ability to the gridiron and introducing a term that later became synonymous with spectacular aerial plays across all sports. Born November 12, 1934 in Shreveport, Louisiana, Owens moved with his family to California, graduating from Santa Monica High School before attending College of Idaho where his roommate and teammate was future NBA legend Elgin Baylor. Standing only 6-foot-3, Owens possessed long arms and phenomenal jumping ability, averaging nearly 28 rebounds per game as a college sophomore and once receiving a contract offer from basketball's Minneapolis Lakers. He also played amateur basketball with the Seattle-based Buchan Bakers after their national championship season. Selected in the 14th round (160th overall) of the 1956 NFL draft by San Francisco 49ers, Owens quickly gained recognition for his unique receiving skills. The Alley Oop play originated during practice before the October 6, 1957 game against Los Angeles Rams when assistant coach Red Hickey, frustrated that quarterback Y.A. Tittle wouldn't throw to the well-covered Owens, shouted "I don't care if they're covering the play, damn it, throw the ball down there!" Tittle heaved a 40-yard rainbow toward the end zone where Owens jumped over two defenders to snag the ball, then repeated the feat again and again. The play, officially known as "West Four right" in the playbook, earned its name from either Tittle, quarterback John Brodie, or Hickey—Owens couldn't recall which—derived from the popular Alley Oop comic strip. Owens's finest statistical season came in 1961 when he caught 55 passes for 1,032 yards and five touchdowns, becoming the first 49ers receiver to surpass 1,000 yards. After refusing to sign in his fifth year and incurring an automatic pay cut to gain free agency, he signed with Baltimore Colts in 1962—the last such NFL free agent signing before the Rozelle Rule was adopted in 1963. A severe automobile accident en route to 1963 training camp left him with serious injuries that hampered his final two seasons. After retiring in 1965 to work for J.C. Penney's public relations department, Owens worked 24 years for the 49ers (1979-2001) as director of training camp, director of alumni relations, and community ambassador. He launched a successful children's reading program in Manteca, recruiting more than 10,000 kids from San Joaquin County. Inducted into Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and 49ers Hall of Fame in 2011, Owens battled kidney issues for two decades before dying of kidney failure June 17, 2012 in Manteca, California at age 77.