RIP R.C. Owens

http://www.mercurynews.com/49ers/ci_20885082/former-49ers-star-r-c-owens-known-alley

78 years old. Inventor of the Alley Oop. Great ambassador for the game in his later years.

 

The other cool thing about Owens that the obit didn't mention was that he used to block field goals by standing under the crossbar and jumping up and swatting the kicks away.

The posts were on the goal line at the time, so he was there partially to return a missed kick (which kickers, who weren't specialists, did more often back then), and ended up coming up with a defensive weapon. The league eventually banned it.

RIP

 

One of the great Niners, on and off the field. RIP.

 

Another cool fact only partially touched on in the obit: Owens led the nation in rebounding while playing for the College of Idaho ... in the same year that Elgin Baylor led the nation in scoring as Owens' teammate.

Actually, the story of that team is probably a book. Dave McKenna -- the former Washington City Paper sports writer once sued by Dan Snyder -- knows a lot about the subject.

I learned a bit myself when writing about a teammate of Baylor and Owens, Gary Mays, who previously had been the best schoolboy baseball catcher in DC, even though he only had one arm.

 

It's refreshing to see a RIP thread for a football player who lived into his late 70s.

RIP to an all-time great.

 

A legendary performer from my hometown. RIP.