Okla-homey
5/22/2006, 08:18 AM
Today's Tulsa World. Its great to know one of your boyhood heroes is a genuinely nice guy!
Living for working
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
5/22/2006
OU's Steve Owens much more than just a Heisman winner
Steve Owens started working at Hub's Bootery in Miami when he was in junior high. He later held jobs picking up trash and working on a paving truck.
Then, in 1970, someone gave him a check for $50,000 to play football.
"I remember my daddy always told me to have fun playing football while it lasts, because someday I'll have to go to work," said Owens. "Then, when I got drafted and signed with Detroit, I got a check for $50,000 as a signing bonus. It would take my dad four years to make that much money.
"When I think about my life, I always remember my father and what he faced. He was making about $900 a month driving a truck and supporting a wife and nine children. Now that's pressure. There's nothing in football that compares to that."
Owens, now closing in on age 60, was in Tulsa on Sunday and Monday as part of the Oklahoma Heisman Winners Poker and Golf Fore Kids Tournaments.
He'll be joined by Heisman winners Jason White and Billy Sims along with dozens of sports celebrities from around the state.
The events, sponsored by Tulsa Sports Charities, began with an autograph session on Sunday at the Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa.
The poker tournament was also played Sunday. The golf tournament will be Monday at Cedar Ridge Country Club.
Owens, who went from Miami, Okla., to the Heisman at OU, is one of the state's most beloved native athletes.
He is also a model for how former Heisman Trophy winners, or any professional athlete, should conduct themselves. He played sports at the highest level and then came home to Oklahoma to lead an exemplary life.
"It's a different era now," he said. "I'm not telling anyone how to live their life. I just did what I thought was right."
"I had responsibilities. I had a wife and two kids when I finished playing football. So, I came home to Oklahoma and went to work."
Owens didn't get rich, though he did very well, playing professional football in the 1970s. He played six years, well past the 3 1/2 years expected for the average NFL running back.
Still, his first contract called for an annual salary of $28,000. As a young father of two, he knew he needed to do more. He worked in the offseason for Chrysler, nearly doubling his annual salary and "gaining a lifetime of business experience. It was great for me.
"Back then, most players had jobs in the offseason. I was lucky. I had a good job at a great American corporation. I learned an awful lot."
Owens had an attorney friend who told him, "the first day you start playing pro football you need to start planning for retirement. Because it is coming quicker than you think." So, Owens saved his money, planning for the day when he would come home and go to work.
These days, in an era of multimillion dollar contracts and bonuses, many athletes can set themselves up for life by doing the right financial planning.
"I'm not upset or anything that I'm not playing now," he said. "I loved my era. I loved my teammates and coaches. I loved the people and fans. I had a great time playing football.
"But when it was over it was time for me to go on with my life. I just did what people did back then. When it was over you went to work. That's the way it was. That's what I learned growing up."
Owens said he tried to retire a few years ago, figuring he would spend more time at his beloved Grand Lake near where he grew up. "I thought I'd do all the fishing and golfing I could handle," he said.
Instead, he missed working. So, he sold his house on Grand Lake and went back to Norman where he still heads into work every morning. "I missed the business part of it," he said. "I missed all of the people you deal with on a daily basis. I love getting out and doing business with people. I missed my employees.
"I've always compared business to football. You want to surround yourself with good teammates. You want to pull together as a team to make something happen. It is great to watch hard work pay off in accomplishing something."
He has a variety of businesses, including financial consulting, insurance and part ownership of five restaurants. "It is enough to keep me busy," he said.
He is also very active in a variety of charity events, including this week's events in Tulsa. "Northeast Oklahoma is my home," said Owens. "I've still got my mom and family up in Miami. There is a special tie for me to that part of the state."
He has the Steve Owens Foundation, a charitable organization that contributes to a variety of Oklahoma efforts.
"I owe a lot of people in this state for helping us live such a wonderful and rich lives," he said. "Anything I can do to help people in this state I'll do. So many people in this state have done so much for me and my family."
To be honest, Owens doesn't owe the state anything. Far more than the thrills on the football field is the way he has lived his life and contributed to the good of the state.
He'll always be remembered as Steve Owens, Heisman Trophy winner. But as anyone who knows him can tell you, there's so much more.
Living for working
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
5/22/2006
OU's Steve Owens much more than just a Heisman winner
Steve Owens started working at Hub's Bootery in Miami when he was in junior high. He later held jobs picking up trash and working on a paving truck.
Then, in 1970, someone gave him a check for $50,000 to play football.
"I remember my daddy always told me to have fun playing football while it lasts, because someday I'll have to go to work," said Owens. "Then, when I got drafted and signed with Detroit, I got a check for $50,000 as a signing bonus. It would take my dad four years to make that much money.
"When I think about my life, I always remember my father and what he faced. He was making about $900 a month driving a truck and supporting a wife and nine children. Now that's pressure. There's nothing in football that compares to that."
Owens, now closing in on age 60, was in Tulsa on Sunday and Monday as part of the Oklahoma Heisman Winners Poker and Golf Fore Kids Tournaments.
He'll be joined by Heisman winners Jason White and Billy Sims along with dozens of sports celebrities from around the state.
The events, sponsored by Tulsa Sports Charities, began with an autograph session on Sunday at the Cherokee Casino Resort in Catoosa.
The poker tournament was also played Sunday. The golf tournament will be Monday at Cedar Ridge Country Club.
Owens, who went from Miami, Okla., to the Heisman at OU, is one of the state's most beloved native athletes.
He is also a model for how former Heisman Trophy winners, or any professional athlete, should conduct themselves. He played sports at the highest level and then came home to Oklahoma to lead an exemplary life.
"It's a different era now," he said. "I'm not telling anyone how to live their life. I just did what I thought was right."
"I had responsibilities. I had a wife and two kids when I finished playing football. So, I came home to Oklahoma and went to work."
Owens didn't get rich, though he did very well, playing professional football in the 1970s. He played six years, well past the 3 1/2 years expected for the average NFL running back.
Still, his first contract called for an annual salary of $28,000. As a young father of two, he knew he needed to do more. He worked in the offseason for Chrysler, nearly doubling his annual salary and "gaining a lifetime of business experience. It was great for me.
"Back then, most players had jobs in the offseason. I was lucky. I had a good job at a great American corporation. I learned an awful lot."
Owens had an attorney friend who told him, "the first day you start playing pro football you need to start planning for retirement. Because it is coming quicker than you think." So, Owens saved his money, planning for the day when he would come home and go to work.
These days, in an era of multimillion dollar contracts and bonuses, many athletes can set themselves up for life by doing the right financial planning.
"I'm not upset or anything that I'm not playing now," he said. "I loved my era. I loved my teammates and coaches. I loved the people and fans. I had a great time playing football.
"But when it was over it was time for me to go on with my life. I just did what people did back then. When it was over you went to work. That's the way it was. That's what I learned growing up."
Owens said he tried to retire a few years ago, figuring he would spend more time at his beloved Grand Lake near where he grew up. "I thought I'd do all the fishing and golfing I could handle," he said.
Instead, he missed working. So, he sold his house on Grand Lake and went back to Norman where he still heads into work every morning. "I missed the business part of it," he said. "I missed all of the people you deal with on a daily basis. I love getting out and doing business with people. I missed my employees.
"I've always compared business to football. You want to surround yourself with good teammates. You want to pull together as a team to make something happen. It is great to watch hard work pay off in accomplishing something."
He has a variety of businesses, including financial consulting, insurance and part ownership of five restaurants. "It is enough to keep me busy," he said.
He is also very active in a variety of charity events, including this week's events in Tulsa. "Northeast Oklahoma is my home," said Owens. "I've still got my mom and family up in Miami. There is a special tie for me to that part of the state."
He has the Steve Owens Foundation, a charitable organization that contributes to a variety of Oklahoma efforts.
"I owe a lot of people in this state for helping us live such a wonderful and rich lives," he said. "Anything I can do to help people in this state I'll do. So many people in this state have done so much for me and my family."
To be honest, Owens doesn't owe the state anything. Far more than the thrills on the football field is the way he has lived his life and contributed to the good of the state.
He'll always be remembered as Steve Owens, Heisman Trophy winner. But as anyone who knows him can tell you, there's so much more.