Hall of Fame
Position: Halfback
Years: 1920-1922
Place of Birth: Hamilton, Ontario
Date of Birth: Dec 02, 1901
Place of Death: Milton, MA
Date of Death: Mar 04, 1986
Jersey Number: 36
Height: 5-10
Weight: 189
High School: Newton, MA (Newton HS)
When he arrived at Harvard, 5-10, 189-pound George Owen, Jr. quickly set about beating Yale and other respected opponents on the gridiron, hockey rink and baseball diamond. He was an all-around blasting back with the agility of a broken field runner and, on defense, the power to knock back plunging opponents with jolting tackles. He could punt and kick field goals. He played every minute of rugged hockey games; and every position, except catcher, on winning baseball teams. In his sophomore year he led the football team to an undefeated 8-0-1 record, followed by two winning seasons which closed with 10-3 victories over Yale both years. A typical Owen performance highlighted the Harvard-Penn State game his junior year: he ran back the kickoff to mid-field, then carried 7 times in the next 8 plays to score. In a goal line stand against Princeton, Owen held the Tigers off with three successive tackles. In 1921, undefeated Yale was favored to beat Harvard and the Crimson had already lost to Centre and to Princeton. Yale was expected to romp. Instead George Owen did, scoring all of Harvard's points while upsetting Yale 10-3. George Owen was awarded Harvard's Wingate cup for best all around athletic ability.
